She's leaving home
by hooligans in hoolahoops
Summary: Some people are born great, some people achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them. For Lena, greatness snuck up on her from behind, whether she liked it or not. Takes place post-time skip. Rated T for slight language. OC, but no OC pairings. Maybe slight character pairings
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

"LAND HOOOOOO!"

"An island? An island? YAHOOOO!" shouted Luffy. He and the rest of the crew were just finishing up breakfast after the call from Usopp came from the crow's nest. He immediately ran outside and grabbed the head of the sunny, flinging himself into his favorite spot so he could see the island coming into view, as the rest of his crew slowly joined him.

"Oh! They have a beach!" Usopp yelled down.

"A beach?! Does that mean I get to see Nami-san and Robin-chwan in their bathing suits? Ah, I can just picture my beautiful angels in their sexy swimwear now…"Sanji was interrupted by Nami's punch to the head and a resounding BONK, then he collapsed with a huge bump and gushing nosebleed. "A beach does sound nice though Nami," Robin offered with a slight giggle after observing Nami's display. "Yeah, you're right, we just need to get a _private_ section!"

"Oi Nami why do I get so little cash?!" Luffy whined. The nine crew members were gathered right outside their boat in the island's main port. To their right was the start of the beach. Right in front of them were many streets filled with apartments with various terraces peeking out, each decorated slightly differently.

"Because if I gave you any more we wouldn't have enough to restock for supplies. And because the only reason we're short right now is because you had to eat almost our entire supply at the party a couple nights ago!" _You'd think that he'd remember eating until he was the size of a small battleship! Then again, this is Luffy we're talking about._

"Ja, Robin and I are going to do a little shopping before we head over to the beach. We'll meet you guys there, OK?"

"Can I come too please?" Chopper asked. It had become almost an unofficial rule that Chopper went with the two girls. "Of course Chopper. Let's go!" The three of them left the boys and started down one of the streets to their right. That left the six of them to decide amongst themselves how their afternoon would pan out.

"I'm going to look at the swords here so-" Zoro said until,

"HOLD IT HOLD IT HOLD IT! If we let you wander around by yourself we'll never see you again." Usopp was right on the mark with that one. "Yohohoho! That's definitely true!" Brook was obviously amused. Luffy was laughing his head off too. Zoro, now very embarrassed, could only yell at the others to shut up as his face gradually got darker shades of red.

"Sanji, you have to go get food, but Luffy probably shouldn't go with you or he'll clean out the whole store. Zoro wants to go look for swords, but he can't be left by himself, so Luffy, Brook and Franky, you guys can take a look around. Sanji and I will stock up on supplies and keep Zoro-kun out of trouble!" Ussop said very sogeking-ish. The two groups agreed to meet at the beach once they all finished up. They then each set off, with Luffy and his group following the same route as Nami, and Sanji's group going in the street straight ahead.

They hadn't even walked fifty yards before the arguing started. "WHY DO I HAVE TO STAY WITH YOU PERVY-CURLS?!" "THAT'S WHAT I WAS GONNA SAY MARIMO! WHY CAN'T YOU HAVE A NORMAL SENSO OF DIRECTION?" And then of course, fists started flying and they got into a dust cloud fight with the occasional head or foot popping out. _Well there goes my well-thought out ingenious plan_, Usopp thought to himself. He didn't dare speak it out loud, because the result would be the same fists thrown in his direction. Instead, he continued walking right past them, and went into a narrow passageway "You guys you have to see this!" Ussop called from ahead of them. He had reached the end of the street, and when Zoro and Sanji caught up to him they shared in the view. They had reached what seemed to be a crossroads for all the streets they saw earlier. The town was set up that all the streets circled around a big plaza with a huge, gorgeous fountain in the center. There were public benches and flower planters around it, making for an overall beautiful and peaceful environment. Directly on the other side were similar looking roads, except for one major difference. They were overloading with stands and tents selling anything and everything you could imagine.

Sitting on the ledge of the fountain was a young girl. She had on a short, flowing dress with a light green bodice and navy blue skirt complete with a matching navy bow in between the two. On her head was a woven hat with a large rim, and a pretty red bow. The hat was gently blowing back from the wind along with her big poofy light blonde hair, with soft waves that extended all the way down her back. _Eggs, milk, honey, flowers for the table…seems I've gotten everything I needed for today and it's not even noon! What wonders shall I entertain myself with now?_ As she pondered she dipped her toes into the fountain and started splashing the rim of the water, giggling to herself as the sun shone down on her back.

"Meshi! Meshi! I want to eat some~thing!" Luffy sang as he strode into the open area, with Brook and Franky right behind him. "I wouldn't mind stopping for a cup of tea myself." Brook added, "And I need some more COOOOLLLLLLLLLAAA!" Franky sang-shouted, rolling his tongue for extra effect. "Could they _be_ any more loud?" Zoro grunted. He noticed the group walking in from an entrance to their far right. "OOOOiiii! Zoro! Sanji! Usopp! Haha, looks like we met up again! OOOiii!" "Why couldn't I have met up with Nami-swan and Robin-chwan instead?!" "Yo Luffy! I guess we're sticking together now, huh?" Usopp said. And with that, the six most rambunctious and crazy members of the Mugiwara crew set off for the bazaar.

_Who the hell is making that kind of noise here? _(It's common knowledge that in the plaza you don't disturb others in any way, shape, or form. As the crowning achievement of the island, the citizens feel it should represent their community in a dignified, nuisance-free manner.) The young girl tilted her head backwards and saw an upside down group of rag-tag men, and, _is that a skeleton? _Suddenly however, her hat flew off her head, and landed straight by the feet of a blonde-haired man, who was trailing behind the rest of his friends.

"Huh?" A hat just randomly appeared by Sanji's feet, so he picked it up. _Whose is this? _Then, a girl with wet feet and no shoes on came running towards the group.

"AH! Gomen gomen! That's mine!" she said, and took her hat back, right out of Sanji's hands, might I add. "The wind sure is busy today, huh?" she said with a laugh. "By the way, you guys haven't been here before, have you?"

"Haha, is it that hard to tell?"

"All that for a bottle of cola?! That's SUPER way too expensive!" yelled Franky from one of the first stands in the marketplace straight ahead of Sanji. Both he and the girl looked up.

The rest of the boys came back to where Sanji was. Franky and Brook were both pissed, Luffy was even more hungry, and Zoro getting a little touchy that he isn't allowed to just go look at swords by himself.

She smiled and said, "Definitely! You stick out like a sore thumb! What are a bunch of pirates like you doing here anyways?"

"Huh? Who's this little kid Sanji" Luffy asked, obviously curious.

"How did you know we were pirates?" Sanji replied.

Another grin. "This city is mostly for commercial purposes, so there aren't a lot of people living here, and everyone who does knows each other. Most of the people who visit are marines looking to stock up on supplies, since we're the last port before a main training camp. So, we know most of the marines who come here too. Everyone else is just assumed to be a pirate, unless proved otherwise. And everyone else is treated like a pirate too."

"What do you mean?"

She continued on. "Well, since we do so much business with the marines, we want to keep everything to their liking. Hostility towards pirates, polite conduct, so on and so forth. All the kids here are taught that the best thing you could ever do is become a great marine!" _Blah blah blah, _she kept to herself.

"Did everyone know we're pirates, and that's why the prices are so jacked up?" Franky spit out

"Haha! No, that just how things are around here. The one thing the people love more than the marines is money, but we need to keep steady revenue from the marines, so they get discount prices from the stands in the back of the market, and that's where they know to head for. All the vendors in the back of the market have low prices, but then they get their turn to be in the front, where they can jack up prices for anyone else who's shopping, and make more cash. Of course, as policy, if you think someone's a pirate and they're shopping in the back, you just jack up your prices on the spot." That same big grin was starting to fade from her face.

"Tch. We picked the wrong place to dock, didn't we Luffy," said Zoro. _What a messed up place._

"I'm HUUUUNNNNGGGRRYYYYY!" was all he had to say back.

"If you want to have a fair chance at fair prices, all you need to do is be confident, demanding, and don't look like a pirate when you go shopping. So basically, that rules out you, you, you, you, you, and, yeah probably you too," she said, pointing to everyone but Sanji. "If you'd like, I can show you some good places to pick up delicious food," she offered.

"Thanks, I think I'll take you up on your offer. Alright you shitheads, I'll be sure to bring you back something good, so just stay here." Sanji said as he started walking with his new guide.

"Wait a damn second. I don't care about prices, if there's a good sword I'm getting it. I'm coming too." Zoro obviously was reaching the end of his patience.

"Ok! But if you eat all the food I'm going to kick you asses!" Luffy shouted at them as they started to walk back towards the market.

"THAT'S WHAT YOU DO EVERY SINGLE MEAL!" Zoro and Sanji shouted back at him in unison. To the young girl, it somehow seemed that their heads doubled in size as they looked back at that man. She giggled again. _What a fun group!_

"By the way you guys, my names Lëna!" And with that, a party of three was made.

**Thanks for reading guys! This is my first story ever, and I hope you're as pumped as I am! I'm trying to get 5 reviews per chapter, so please do so! (Please!) Also, remember to follow/favorite as well on your way out.**

**Stay tuned!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi guys! I'm glad I've already gotten so many views. This is my first story, so if you don't mind I would also like some reviews as well. Anyways from now on I'm going to be typing Lena, even though it is still pronounced as Lëna. **

***Note-according to google translate straw sandals is waraji in japanese**

**Chapter 2**

Lena's feet were starting to get dirty, but she didn't mind.

Sanji was on rapid fire question duty. "So Lena-chan, how old are you?"

"Fourteen"

"What is such a cutie doing in this busy pace by herself?"

"Running errands for my mom." _Which I hope your friends are watching by the way!_ Lena was so excited to show off in front of her new companions that she completely forgot her stuff by the fountain, but her pride wasn't letting her admit it

"Your mom? I bet she's a total cutie too!"

Lena stopped in her tracks, and held out her hand to signal Zoro and Sanji to do as well. She seemed like she was about to say something in return. When she lifted her head, and quickly drew back her hand. "Uh…sorry that was, um, s-sorry about that I don't know why I just did that" She quickly said with a fake laugh.

"Is your mom…ok Lena-chan?"

"What? Oh yeah, no of course! She's fine. She's at home right now, today's her day off which means it's my day to get groceries and things like that. She's a bartender at the local pub and inn." With that, she started walking again.

"She really is a cutie! Everybody thinks so, she's wildly popular among the men here. She um…-" Lena was cut off.

"I hope you're not taking us to the marines." Zoro suddenly spoke up, surprising the other two. He had been silent up until that point, but apparently he was still intently listening.

"Oi Marimo-yaro! How dare you accuse Lena-chan like that?! I'll beat you to a fucking pulp!"

Sanji was only stopped by Lena's words, which were loud and forced, signalling them to stop.

"Why am I…haha I guess it's pretty weird, after what I've told you guys about this city and all." She looked down and the rim of her hat covered her eyes in shadow. Her voice quavered at the end. Her outburst was more spur of the moment than anything. Something inside didn't want to see them fight.

_You were so energetic to tell us about all the bad things, why the sudden change?_ Zoro thought to himself.

"I know I'm not very old yet, but I can tell. I don't agree with this place. There are bad pirates just like there are good ones. And the same goes with the Marines. People here like to keep up the façade that it's just a one way street with bad pirates and good marines, but I…I know better." Lena told them. I_ pretty damn well should._

"Your mom feels the same way, doesn't she? But you don't tell people that because she has a reputation to uphold." Zoro persisted.

"Nope. My mom is just a run of the mill woman in that respect. She would honestly make a good marine from her ethics alone. I'm sorry for not being straight with you about that kind of stuff, it's just kind of _personal_." Lena looked Zoro straight in the eyes. It was a kind of look that said, _what would you know?_

Lena jumped ahead of the two now very surprised men, and put on her seemingly trademark big grin. "A-anyways, here we are! The best ramen shack in the city!" The scent coming from that place was incredible Sanji and Zoro ordered enough ramen to feed the entire market, but when the three of them got back to the plaza with their waiting nakama, it was distributed one for everyone, and the rest for Luffy.

"YOSHA! I love Ramen!" Luffy yelled in excitement, although honestly it was pretty obvious, he was tearing through three bowls per minute.

"Glad I could be of service!" This time Lena's smile was truly sincere, and it made Sanji relax a little. _What the hell was that Marimo bastard thinking?_

To Lena's relief, all her stuff was still there. She put her shoes back on, picked up the two bags, and walked over to the chow-fest to say her goodbyes. "Zoro-san! Sanji-san! It's been awesome! Skeleton-san! Long-nose-san, Blue-hair-san, waraji-san, I hope you guys like the ramen, it's a town favorite! "It's Delicio-eh? Waraji-san?" Luffy said, with noodles spraying out of his mouth. Lena started to laugh and continued on, "Of course! I love your straw sandals! The hat is cool too, but it's obvious that the sandals are your signature look. They're very old-timey, really cool!" Lena said with a wink! She prided herself in her deductions. "Hahaha! You're really funny, I like you!" Luffy exclaimed. Lena smiled back at him, then she started to leave. "EHHH? You're not leaving now are you? Hold on a second!" Luffy stretched his arm to where Lena was, now twenty yards ahead of him. _What the…hell?!_ Lena was shocked to see a hand grabbing on to her arm. It was…waraji's hand?! "Lena! Don't go yet! Come to the beach with us!" He was shouting to her. _An arm can't just stretch this long. It can't. That's not how things work. I must be really dehydrated, and I mean I didn't get a lot of sleep last night. That must be it…I'm imagining this! _Luffy then flew over to where his arm was leading him. _This can't be real!_ Lena was getting even more afraid, and she started shaking. "W-waraji-san. Would you please let go of my arm? I think I need t-to go sit down." Luffy then started laughing, and Lena noticed that the rest of his friends were laughing as well. "There's no need to worry! I'm a gomu-human! I ate the gomu-gomu devil fruit!" "Devil fruit…don't be silly there's no such things as-"Lena started to say, before Luffy once again stretched his arm back, grabbed his ramen bowl, and then brought it back over to himself. He-started slurping away right in front of her. Then it was Lena who started laughing, nervously at first, but then more comfortably. A gomu-human, huh? I really think fate is on my side today waraji-san! I've never met a funnier bunch than you guys!" "Nihihi! Arigato!"

Luffy laughed too. "Lena! You just have to come to the beach with us! I want you to meet the rest of my crew!"

"_Your _crew?"

"That's right! I'm the pirate captain Monkey D. Luffy!"  
>"Luffy-san, huh. I think I prefer waraji-captain-san." Lena's grin matched Luffy's in both size and enthusiasm.<p>

"Sounds great!" She said happily!

A parade of four men, one cyborg, one skeleton, and one little girl marched down a narrow street and came to the entrance of a magnificent beach. There were umbrellas everywhere, the water was full of people, and everywhere you looked there were gorgeous girls in bathing suits, much to Sanji's pleasure. They entered the beach full of toys and equipment to last them for the entire day. "OOOiii! Nami! Robin! Chopper! Where are you?" it took them ten minutes to find their other friends, but it was definitely worth it. They had found an amazing spot on the beach right in front of some rocks in the ocean that made the waves crash and spray all over the place. The sun was shining but it wasn't too hot; truly a wonderful day to be alive, and ten certain people were soaking it all up.

Nami and Robin, as promised, spent a large portion of the day sunbathing, both were reading a book. Robin's was a new one about the local history of the island, and Nami was studying some old maps. Franky was having a ball playing with Usopp and Chopper in the water, the two men always making sure Chopper didn't fall in. Luffy was building a sand castle since he also couldn't get wet, Zoro was getting in some beach training by slicing up the boulders in the water, and Sanji was making use of one of the public barbeques and making everyone some snacks. Lena was sitting next to Nami and Robin, watching everyone else enjoy their little vacation. She had just been introduced to the rest of the guys, the two ladies and the reindeer, and she couldn't help but wear that same big smile on her face. For the first time in a while, she felt…different. She couldn't put her finger on it, but something about this bunch of people gave her a feeling that made her…content. Content that she had lived the life she has lived so far, because it has led her to this exact moment.

"What are you thinking about, Lena-chan?"

"Sanji-san! You scared me! What am I thinking about? I'm not thinking about anything really." She looked at him from under the same big hat with a red bow. "I'm just happy to be here!"

The look in Lena's eyes was different from what Sanji had seen all day. _We're doing something good for this girl, right?_ "Can't argue with that," he said. He then went on and gave Nami and Robin two delicious looking hot dogs, before calling to the rest of the crew, "Oi Shitheads! Food!"

**Thanks for reading! I know it's still going slowly, but don't worry. This is where it starts picking up!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello again! One of the only good things about being home sick from school is that I get to publish a brand spanking new chapter for you guys! And now the story is really starting :D I hope you enjoy, and again I would extremely appreciate feedback!**

**Chapter 3**

"_You have a real pirate ship?!" Lena decided to join Franky, Chopper and Usopp in the water._

"_Of course we do, I built it myself!" _

"_It's a hell of a ship too!" Usopp added, "We've got huge sails, a lawn deck, and in the rear there's a giant cannon!"_

"_You've got to let me come see it!" Lena's eyes were brimming with excitement._

Sanji was leaning on the rail of the Sunny, recalling the conversation that took place over an hour ago. _She should be here by now._

"Lena-chan sure is taking her sweet time." "Definitely, did she ditch us?" He heard some of the others talking on the deck, where they were relaxing before dinner.

_It was starting to get colder, so the Mugiwara Pirates decided to pack up and head back for the Sunny. They had fully restocked and spent a wonderful day at the beach. Now it was time to head off. "If you guys are headed in that direction, then you must be docked at the main port." Lena called over to them, "I'm gonna run home, drop my stuff off and change. I'll meet you there!" With that she took off running in the opposite direction in her bathing suit, with her dress, groceries, and once again, shoes in hand._

"Leave it be, Cook." The swordsman's sudden remark snapped Sanji out of his daydream.

"What are you talking about?"

"We shouldn't have asked Lena to come along with us. She told us this city hates pirates, didn't she? This is a good opportunity to let her escape."

Sanji lit a cigarette, took a long drag, then blew the smoke out towards the sky. He noticed the sun was starting to set. "Lena-chan, she…never looked happier than she did sitting on the beach with us. I'm not about to take that away from a lady."

"Then why isn't she here thanking you?"

With that, Sanji jumped over the railing, and set off in the same route Lena had taken earlier.

"That baka!" Zoro quickly muttered to himself, before jumping down off the Sunny and following Sanji's trail. Nami came out of her cabin just in time to see the end of Zoro's robe going off the railing, and she immediately ran up to see what was going on.

"Zoro, and is that Sanji? Where are you two going? We're about to shove off!" she yelled down to them, but they were both out of sight before either could respond.

Zoro was running around like crazy trying to find Sanji again. He got into the plaza with no sign of him, so he decided to try the street to his far left. Directly to his right, Sanji was ferociously searching for Lena. All together they covered almost all the streets, yet somehow they never managed to find each other, or Lena. Time was passing quickly, and soon a half an hour had gone by.

Sanji turned into the last street. You couldn't tell from the entrance in the plaza, but halfway through the road starting going uphill and widened out. It lead away from the more affluent part of town, and into the more humble parts, with houses more spread apart and significantly smaller. _I guess it's easy to hate such a superficial place when you're living out here,_ he remarked. Before totally exiting the district, he turned onto a final side-street, then into an ally way. _Shit, it's getting really dark._ The entire passage was covered in shadow.

"LENA! OII! YOU HERE? LENA?!" he called for the six billionth time.

Once again, no response.

_Still no sign of her! _

Sanji stepped on something wet, but thicker than water.

As the first beams of moonlight shone down upon the ally, Sanji saw what he has refused to acknowledge as a possibility up until that moment. He kept pushing the thoughts into the back of his mind, lying to himself that there was no way it could happen, but all at once they resurfaced, seeking vengeance by torturing and taunting him.

There on the ground laid Lena, a big wound on her head still bleeding profoundly.

"aaahh….aaahh..Lena…chan..?"

Then it clicked.

He ran as as fast as he could over to her, and kneeled down in a pool of blood. "Oi Lena-chan! Who did this to you! Oi! Say something! Lena-chan!" He held her body in his arms, but there was no response.

Unbeknownst to Sanji, Zoro just ran by the alley. He took a double-take, then ran back. "Cook? Oi Sanji! Did you find her?" he noticed the man's body was hunched over, but he couldn't see what was in front of him.

Sanji looked up. The next events appeared to happen to Zoro in slow motion. First, Sanji turned around, his eyes glaring, full of anger and confusion. "WE HAVE TO GO GET HELP!" He screamed, then he sprinted past Zoro. Zoro only got a glimpse of the next image, but it was all he needed. He saw an unconscious Lena in his nakama's arms, and blood running down his suit. _FUCK! _He took off running after him.

Sanji only noticed then how delicate Lena's body was. She wasn't too short for her age, but she was extremely light and thin. _My fault…my fault...! Goddamit this is all my fault!_

Somehow Sanji lead himself and Zoro back to the Sunny, and with one giant leap they both landed hard on the grass lawn.

"WHERE THE HELL IS CHOPPER? OI CHOPPER! I NEED YOUR HELP! LENA, LENA, SHE'S…SHE'S REALLY BADLY HURT!" Yelled Sanji in despair.

The entire crew ran out to see what was going on. The looks of horrification spread in a wave from face to face.

"Move, move! Let me see her!" Chopper was having a hard time, but he pushed through the crowd with his lab coat on and medical bag in arm. "This is terrible, bring her inside!" he ordered. He and Sanji then ran into the ship's medical room, where Sanji placed a still unresponsive Lena on one of the tables. "Lena, Lena! Can you hear me" Chopper tried to get some kind of reaction, but it was futile. He shone a light in her eyes, and only then was there a slight change. He then made his way to addressing the main wound. "U-umm is there any way you need to me to help?" Sanji tried to offer, but Chopper, now transformed into his bulkiest form, pushed him out of the room and said, "Just let me handle this!" before he slammed the door behind him. Sanji felt his legs go weak, and fell back against the door, sliding down it until he was sitting on the ground with his head in his hands. He noticed that to his right, Nami was crying and Robin was trying to comfort her. Nami's sobs were the only thing breaking the deathly silence, until Luffy started shouting. "Oi Sanji, Zoro what the hell happened?!" He too was still in shock and didn't fully grasp why Lena was suddenly in the medical room with Chopper.

"I don't know." Sanji whispered. It was all he could muster. Zoro didn't say a word. He chose instead to keep looking out the window.

"What do you mean you don't know? What the hell happened to Lena!?"

"I SAID I DON'T FUCKING KNOW YOU PIECE OF-"By this time Sanji was gripping Luffy's collar, ready to do some serious damage, but he stopped himself before he went on. He left the rest of his crew in bewilderment, and went back outside. He tried to light another cigarette, but his hands were shaking too much. His lighter and pack then hit the ground. Hard.

_Shit. "_**SHIT!**"


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello my beloved readers! I'm sorry this chapter has taken longer than usual, but to make up for it it's almost three times as long as the previous ones! I like this length. The next chapters are going to be this long. Anyways, as always, please enjoy! And if you like it, please PLEASE follow/favorite and/or review!**

**Also, I think i should probably jump on the bandwagon for this one. If you couldn't already tell, I don't own One Piece.**

**Chapter 4**

It was pitch black. That was the first thing Lena noticed. The darkness surrounded her on all sides, rendering any kind of sight useless. She knew she was alone. She also knew she couldn't stay in the same place anymore, or the eerie aura that she felt would become would totally consume her. None of this was spoken, she just came to that fact. But it was undoubtable. A weird, absolute feeling.

She was lying down, that was the second thing. Her legs felt heavy, and she struggled to regain her posture. Once totally upright, which took longer than usual to achieve, she started walking.

How long she kept at it was totally beyond Lena. All she knew was that she kept walking in what seemed to be an endless straight line, yet no added fatigue came. Just the initial drowsiness, as if she was constantly in a trance, blurring her sense of reality. Or was it heightened, now that nothing seemed real at all?

Suddenly, a trickle of noises reached her ears. It was dull, and she couldn't make out any specific words, and she couldn't tell how many sources it came from. She found it strange that she couldn't find herself able to walk any further. She tried and tried to take just one step, but the imaginary force wouldn't let her budge an inch. The sounds were growing louder and louder until Lena started to worry. She tried even harder to move, and her attempts became desperate. She wanted to run away from the noises, as if they were there to harm her.

Then, all at once, the noise became monstrously loud. Lena could feel its presence right on stop of her, suffocating her. It made it hard to breathe, and slowly she fell to her knees. She could make out every single word of every single sound as they simultaneously converged and clashed with each other, overloading her senses. It was truly hell. Something inside Lena put her hands up to her ears, scrunching her hair in frustration and agony. She tried to scream, but nothing came out. She fell to one side and brought her knees to her chest, finally surrendering herself to the terrible agony. The chaos was unrelenting. She could feel her tears dripping down her face, falling off her nose. She stayed frozen there, at the mercy of the noises. She didn't even try to get up anymore. Lena let the horrific sounds beat down on her for what seemed to be hours on end.

* * *

><p>Zoro sat by the bed where Lena was still sleeping. It had been four days since Sanji found her knocked out in the alley way, and most of the crew besides those two had settled back into their normal routines. Nami was constantly on the lookout in a change on the log pose so she could locate their next island. Zoro remembered the trouble everyone had gone through because of that.<p>

_It was the morning after Lena was found, and her hometown was already way, way out of sight._

"_Ne Luffy, shouldn't we be returning Lena after she wakes up? I bet she's going to be a little surprised. We need to turn the ship around…" Usopp said almost half-heartedly. Anything about Lena at that point was taboo for the guys. "You're right! Crap! I hadn't even thought of that! Oi Franky!-"Luffy was interrupted by a punch on the head that sent him falling to the ground in an instant, along with Usopp. "You idiots! We can't take Lena back there now! She's obviously in danger!" Nami yelled at them through fanged teeth. _

Zoro clenched his teeth and smashed his fist against the table by Lena's bed. _It's our god damn faults! I should have realized that!_ He cursed his own weakness again. He turned himself to face Lena. He looked at her delicate figure, how her arms were placed neatly above the sheets, and the extensive bandaging that she had above her face. Her entire crown was covered in a wrap that went all the way around her head and under her bangs. It was covering the stiches that Chopper put in where her injury had occurred on the back of her head. The process had taken hours, and she often needed her bandages changed, which he hated seeing. He was only there to see Chopper change them once, since Sanji was with Lena the majority of the time, and he never felt like sharing time with him. Chopper moved with extensive care not to hurt her, but he could see how her face tensed in the pain. _She's got a serious concussion_ He remembered him saying to everyone. _A huge blow to the back of the head cracked her skull. It's all patched up now, but it's going to take a long time to fully recover. Plus, everyone takes head injuries a little differently. I don't know how much her motor functions and things like that are going to be affected._ He cursed himself for not being able to help her, _again. _He sighed deeply and leaned back in his chair. Even now, despite all that had happened, she was sleeping soundly as always, making no sounds, and keeping that same peaceful expression.

But then Lena's eyes shot open. Zoro was caught totally off guard, and I swear he almost fell out of his chair! He immediately flashed a big smile and wanted to yell for everyone to come down here, _Look Lena's finally awake!_ But, he didn't. He didn't move a muscle, except to keep him in his seat. Something was...off. Lena's eyes kept looking straight forward, and there was an undeniable emotion behind them. Fear. "… L-" Zoro was about to say something, when he heard tiny voice that shocked him. "Zoro?" Lena had turned to look at him. Her eyes seemed back to normal. "Lena!" He didn't wear the same warm expression, but soon he relaxed. He didn't let that initial worry leave his mind, but he focused on his relief and excitement that Lena was finally coming around for the time being. "Lena!" he repeated himself. "I'm so glad you're finally awake! How are you feeling?" "Zoro…I'm really sorry," Lena said in a very quiet voice. Her faced looked genuinely concerned. Zoro expected her to put on her famous comical grin and say something more along the lines of _are you kidding? I'm feeling better than ever! I just needed a little nap!_ This drastic change in attitude left him a little speechless, and worried again. She continued on. "I didn't show you any places to look for swords." She started to pout, and looked up at him apologetically. Zoro was utterly dumbfounded, but he pulled through and managed to smirk. "Of all the things to say when you wake up!" he said with a laugh. Lena matched his shocked expression for a moment, then just smiled sheepishly.

It didn't take long for the rest of the Mugiwara crew to come barreling down the stairs to the medical room. Zoro left mere seconds earlier to go tell the rest of them, and the news had instantaneous results. "Lena!" Luffy was the first to run in, with the rest of his crew tailing behind him. Being able to stretch yourself to the bottom of the stairs in a heartbeat really came in handy in these situations. "Are you all better now?" He asked her with a huge grin on his face. "LENA-CHAAAN! I WAS SO WORRIED!" Sanji wailed with a waterfall of tears running down his cheeks. The rest of the crew were all trying to get their sentiments in as well. It was a mixture of "Lena!" "How are you feeling?" "Are you ok?" "I was so worried you weren't going to wake up!" and things of the sort. Lena was totally unprepared for such a spectacle, and it was extremely overwhelming. The noise in the room was unmistakably growing louder and louder and pounding on her ears. She felt each individual's presence magnify, and crush her. Before she could even try to make sense of the scene, another throbbing pain, this one much worse, appeared out of nowhere in her head. "Gh!" she blurted out, and couldn't help but bring her hands up to her head in pain. That shut everybody up.

"Oi Lena, are you ok? Oi!" Luffy asked her with a serious tone of panic in his voice. Wasn't she supposed to be all better now? She woke up, didn't she? "YOU IDIOTS you can't go screaming to someone with a concussion like that!" Chopper said as he ran into the room with his signature coat and stethoscope around his neck. He forgot them in his room, which is why he wasn't in the Lena-visitor stampede. Chopper turned to the captain of the crew and said, "Luffy you idiot Lena's still seriously injured!" "I DID THIS? I'M SO SORRY LENA! I'M SO SORRY! SO SORRY! SO SORRY!" Luffy was bowing and smacking his head on the floor, and all simultaneously making a shit ton of noise. "JUST HURRY UP AND GET OUT OF HERE!" Chopper was once again sporting his heavy point and literally threw Luffy out of the room. He sighed dramatically, and turned back to face Lena. She was still breathing heavily, her hands covering her eyes, but Nami was already soaking a towel in cold water to put over her forehead, and Robin was gently holding and stroking her hand, which was visibly having a relaxing effect. "Thanks guys. I think I ought to give her another examination now that she's up. You can come back to visit when I'm done, but you _have_ to take it easy."

Everyone got up and left except for Sanji and Zoro. "Feel better, Lena-chan!" Nami said over her shoulder as she closed the door behind the group. "I'd rather stay, if you don't mind." The two men said perfectly in sync. Usually, this would easily piss each other off, and more often than not send them straight into a fight, but this time neither even noticed. Instead they both brought up stools and sat next by Lena's bed as they had been doing every day before.

"Nehehehehe" The three pirates heard a soft chuckle, and all three saw Lena sitting Up for the first time and softly laughing to herself. "So I guess those were your crewmates, huh. I gotta say I was a little shocked at first, believe it or not I've never seen a talking skeleton before." Another giggle. "But I guess I should start getting used to it. You can never tell what might happen with pirates! And you must have been telling them about me. I'm so flattered, they even knew my name!" She flashed them a big grin, which unfortunately they could not return. Their faces filled filled with surprise, curiosity, but mainly concern. Zoro frowned and remembered Lena's weird reaction when she first woke up. He hadn't told anyone else about that yet, and got a little worried that it was about more than just the swords. They were all silent for a good couple of seconds before Sanji spoke up. "Lena-chan, what are you-" Lena was feeling particularly proud of herself for being so observant, and according to one of her worse habits, toned out everyone else in the room as she mentally complimented herself. She didn't hear Sanji start to talk, and interrupted him with ease. She faced Chopper, who was standing by Sanji and Zoro and said, "And you must be the doctor then, little moose-san." She flashed him an adorable smile.

"Moose? Did you say moose? I AM NOT A MOOSE I'M A RACOON. NO WAIT I'M A REINDEER GODDAMIT! Wait, hold on! Lena, what are you talking about? It's me Chopper!"

"Chopper, huh? That's such a cute name!" Another smile.

_Oh no._ Chopper hopped onto her bed and stood right on her abdomen. "Lena-chan, what are you talking about?" Sanji asked her, this time a lot more worry clearly audible.

Lena, who are those two guys?" Chopper asked as he pointed to Sanji and Zoro.

"Sanji and Zoro of course."

"Right. But that was the first time I, or anyone has told you my name, right?"

"Yeah."

"Do you know the names of any of the other people who came to visit you?"

"No."

Zoro and Sanji's eyes opened wide, and their pupils shrank. Sanji's cigarette dropped out of his mouth, but he stayed seated, eyes glued to Lena. Lena saw that Zoro, on the other hand, jumped out of his chair, and he seemed...angry, though she didn't know why. He clenched his teeth and made a tightened his hands into a fist, until Lena saw blood dripping down his palms. Chopper just weakly feel down onto her stomach, as if all at once his strength was sucked out of him. It was an unnerving sight for Lena, and she didn't know what to make out of it. "Umm, guys? Are you alright?" She tried to nervously smile in order to somehow lift the mood, but no one could bring themselves to make eye contact.

* * *

><p><em>Chopper was the one who finally broke the silence. He said that he was going to do another check-up on Lena, and asked Zoro and Sanji to go get the rest of the crew so he could explain what was going on to everyone.<em>

"Memory Loss"

The subsequent reaction from Chopper's quite blunt statement was obviously to be expected.

"EEEEEEEHHHH"

"Oh Lena-chan…"Nami brought her hands to her mouth.

"So, she doesn't remember any of us?" Robin inquired.

"Well, not exactly." The rest of the newly informed members of the crew quickly looked over to Chopper, each one's look demanded that he elaborate, but Lena was the one who spoke up instead.

"I'm sorry. I mean, I remember seeing most of you guys in the plaza, but we were never introduced."

"So, that means you remember Zoro and Sanji!" Franky exclaimed hopefully.

"Yeah." Lena said, blushing a little. She was starting to feel bad that she didn't remember any of the people around her.

Chopper started with the questions again. "Lena, what time does your memory cut off?"

Lena took her time going through her memories, which were currently not in very good shape. "We, uhh, I offered to show the guys a good place to eat, and we walked through the market. We got to the ramen shop, and…and…" The same sharp pain seared through her mind, and made Lena bend over and clutch her head. "Ugh!" "Don't force yourself!" Chopper said and was about to climb back onto her bed, but she stopped him. Through short, staggered breaths, she managed say that she was fine, she just needed a second. After what happened the last time the group saw Lena, no one dared make another sound. That is, except for Luffy. But he was never one to get these kinds of situations anyways.

"That's not faaaiir! Why does Lena only remember Zoro and Sanji!?" He had his arms folded across his chest like a little kid who couldn't understand why he had to go to bed so early. Nami was just about ready to beat him into next Tuesday, but Lena, to the surprise of most, spoke up. Her lips started to tremble and tears started to pool in her eyes.

"I'm sorry waraji-san, I really wish I remember you. You seem, you _all_ seem so nice, I'm…really so sorry!"

"w-waraji-san?!"

"Yeah!" She said, and the tears stopped welling. "I really like your straw sandals! I mean, the hats nice and all, but they straw sandals are obviously your signature look. I really like them!" Then, to Lena's surprise, Luffy started insanely laughing, and the rest of his crew soon joined him. Lena just sat there, not understanding what everyone thought was so funny, until Luffy could control himself again. He turned to her, ruffled her hair, and said, "I can't believe you forgot my name too! Its waraji-captain-san!" And he gave her a huge grin. It took Lena a second, but then it was her turn to laugh and laugh until her sides hurt.

A chorus of Mugiwara pirates then screamed at him, "Oi Luffy don't touch her head she's fucking injured!" Eight hands gave him a punch that sent him crashing into the wall, breaking said wall, and come crashing down onto the floor with an appropriate bump.

* * *

><p>"Chopper, what's wrong? You've had that same expression on all dinner." Robin asked Chopper just as Luffy, Zoro, and Usopp left the dining room for lookout duty, referring to distant he looked all throughout dinner. Sanji was doing the dishes, and mostly everyone else were sitting on the couches. Chopper jumped in his seat, and got a little embarrassed because he didn't think anyone had noticed. "It's…It's just..." Chopper <em>forcefully<em> put his cup of orange juice down on the table, and sighed heavily. "I've been thinking Robin. Lena didn't have any other injuries besides the one on her head, and when I checked it out there wasn't any evidence that showed she had sustained any kind of injury like it before. She seemed pretty excited to see our ship when we told her about it, right? Kind of like, she had never seen one like it before, right?" It took all of Chopper's restraint to hold back his tears. "Doesn't that mean that she hung out with us, pirates, for the first time, and then she was attacked for it?! Doesn't it mean this is our fault?!" The crew looked up at the now balling Chopper, regret entering their eyes. _Is that true?_ They all questioned themselves. Had they been subconsciously repressing that notion for the sake of a more convenient answer? Doubts began swarming in each one's head, until Robin spoke up in response. "Were we not also the ones who saved Lena, whether it was our fault or not?" All heads now turned to face the archeologist instead. "We don't know what actually happened. All we have now is speculation, and it's best not to assume anything to be true until we get the facts." She sipped her tea, and Chopper, as usual, decided to trust the smartest member of the crew. He wiped his nose and forced himself to stop sniffling. She gave him a warm smile.

"CRASH!" The dining room dwellers heard a plate break from inside the kitchen. Sanji, who had been doing dishes, went outside to go look for a broom.

Or at least, that's what he wanted them to think. But one broken plate was worth it if he got to go see Lena, even after Chopper gave the entire crew an explicit warning to let her rest without disturbance. To his surprise, (but really it shouldn't have been,) when he got into the medical room Zoro was standing by the door.

"You're late." He said.

"Shut up."

They walked over two where their two chairs were still placed by Lena's bed. Once again she was sleeping extremely soundly, honestly if you didn't know any better you never would have known that she ever woke up in the first place. Sanji felt bad that he had to interrupt such a serene image, so he turned to Zoro, who everybody knew was far less romantic. "Tch. Fine." He said from Sanji's unspoken command. He held out his arm but stopped half way across her body. _Maybe shaking her isn't the best idea…_

"What the hell are you doing?" Sanji whispered hastily.

"Well if you've got a better idea, you do it!" Zoro spat back.

As their argument grew, so did their voices.

Lena heard two loud noises enter her consciousness. They were getting louder, until the words changed into unrecognizable roars. _No…not again…_

"mmm…." The two pirates froze as they were about to throw their first punches when they heard their younger companion groan in her sleep. Immediately, they sat back down and faced her bedside. Slowly, her eyes opened, and she realized they were by her side. She turned to them.

"Zoro-san? Sanji-san?"

"Hi Lena-chan! We're sorry for waking you, we just…we, uhh…" Sanji tried to come up with an excuse for why they were bothering a seriously injured young girl about why in fact she was injured when she had memory loss.

"Lena, why are you in this room right now." Zoro was able to think quicker and took over.

"Another Q and A session?" She said groggily and a bit irritated as she sat up and leaned back on her bed frame. "Because I'm injured. And I have memory loss."

"Right. Why are you injured?"

"Well that's…Chopper-chan told me I was…attacked." Suddenly Lena took on a very uncomfortable, even nervous expression. She hugged her knees to her chest and slumped so that only her eyes were visible behind them. It was then that Sanji truly realized the magnitude of the huge age difference between Lena and the rest of the crew. They weren't exactly used to random ambushes, but each had their fair share with getting hurt. This was Lena's first time ever experiencing anything of the sort, not to mention that it was in the one place that was still majorly developing, and it literally hit her very hard. Looking up again after a short moment she noticed that Sanji and Zoro were both staring at her, a look of sympathy in their eyes, "A-anyways! He also told me that you too were really worried about me, and you were the ones who saved me that night. Thank you for thinking of me!" She said with the most convincing smile she could manage.

That startled both pirates to her right. Neither of them in both their wildest dreams thought that they would be receiving any kind of gratitude that night. If anything, they had prepped themselves for a bombardment of insults and curses more to the tune of _YOU SHITHEADS THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT! I CAN'T BELIEVE I TRUSTED SOME PIRATES THAT I JUST FUCKING MET!_ And in a way, that might have been easier to deal with. The lack of a response after Lena had showed them such sincere compassion was growing borderline extremely awkward, so Zoro, once again being one to get right back on his feet, abruptly continued where he left off.

"Listen Lena. Who do you think attacked you?"

"Eh?"

Sanji finally found his voice and took back over. "It was probably someone you know Lena-chan, since I doubt some random stranger would bother wasting their time with a little girl. And it was also probably-"

"Ok stop right there if you wouldn't mind." Lena looked like she was using all of her restraint to keep her voice down. "I would appreciate if you wouldn't go accusing my friends like that. They're very important to me."

Sanji was surprised that she was getting…upset? Was Lena getting upset about this? "Lena-chan this is serious we really need to find out who-"

"THEY WOULD NEVER DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT!"

Lena's fists were clenching the ends of her sheets. After the sudden remark she felt a familiar, painful sensation, and grunted quietly. Her idiotic pride was working against her again, and she really didn't want to look weak right now. She tried to hide it as well as she could, but Zoro and Sanji immediately picked it up.

"Lena, calm down." Zoro said in a straight, serious tone.

It took Lena a second to collect herself, but she looked him back square in the face. "Those are my friends and family you're talking about. They would never do anything to hurt me."

Zoro was quick to respond, since Lena was being totally controversial to their last real conversation, when she told him and Sanji about how her friends and family were judgmental bastards. "You told us that you come from a twisted city where pirates are despised no matter who they are. Why wouldn't they attack you, who gave us a grand tour and spent the entire day hanging out with us?"

"But I still care about them! Say one more bad thing about my friends and I'll kick your ass." This time Lena didn't shout, she had learned her lesson. She raised her voice only slightly, but her tone was much more serious and powerful, like she truly had ever intent to do some serious harm to the mossy haired man.

"You're not in much of a position to be making threats." Their eyes never wavered for a second.

Then of course, Lena slumped back against her bed again. "You got me there," she said with a weak, half-hearted chuckle, admitting her defeat. Zoro smirked, but only slightly. He liked when he won arguments like these. But all things considered, there wasn't usually this much of a challenge from a fourteen year old girl. The look in her eyes was wise beyond her years, and he acknowledged it with respect. Not that he would admit it to anyone else though.

"I got it. It wasn't them. Then I'm leaving."

"Huh?" Two surprised voices asked in unison. Sanji and Lena looked up at him as he rose from his chair.

"She doesn't know who did it. That's all I came here to ask." With that, Zoro turned around and walked towards the door of the Medical Room. _I am going to find out who it was._ He thought to himself.

"Hold on, you're not leaving, are you? You come in here, wake _me _up, and then just leave? No fucking way sit down."

Then it was Zoro's turned to be surprised, and that outburst left him far more so than his left Sanji and Lena. His legs started moving however, and without even thinking about it he was once again sitting right next to the cook.

"I…I'm not telling you guys all you want to hear, and I get that. And I'm sorry. But I don't know what to think anymore." Lena had to stop to wipe the forming tears from her eyes, then gave them a shaky smile. "I'm scared. I want answers too, and it's so damn frustrating because I think I might have known them but now I can't remember…anything!" Another desperate laugh. "So, you know, I figure I'll tell you all that I know now, all that I can tell, and…I don't know maybe it will help. Knowing more about me, I mean."

_M_y_ fault! Goddamit this is my fault!_ That same line kept repeating over and over in Sanji's head, like a shitty record player. He wanted to kick something. He wanted to curse out the entire fucking world. He wanted to rip off Lena's bandages and destroy the bed she was retained to for the slight chance that maybe she wasn't _really_ injured. Maybe he wasn't _really_ the one who put her there.

Zoro crossed his arms. "Alright. Talk."

Sanji looked up. He then realized that he had been looking down, hair covering his eyes, and staring at his hands that were clenched together with his knuckles turning white.

_That's right. I can't afford to be such a pussy right now._

So he just did his best to put on a genuine smile, for Lena's sake, lit a cigarette in his lap, then said softly, "Everyone has a story. I'd love to hear a cutie's like you."

That got him a small giggle, and a tale of immense caliber. He never expected anything like it.

**That's all for now! Again, follow, comment, or review if you wouldn't mind!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello once again! I'm so glad I finally got around to writing this chapter, because I've been thinking about it as soon as I came up with the idea for this fanfic. This one's all about Lena's backstory, and I hope you have as much fun reading it as I had writing it! Oh and also, I guess I never mentioned it but the name of Lena's town in Port Rica.**

**PS-per usual, follow/favorite/review if you wouldn't mind!**

**PPS-I still do not own One Piece**

**Chapter 5**

Sanji was sitting on his bed in the men's quarters, mulling over his thoughts. He had a lot to think about.

_A loud snore startled Lena before she could start talking again. Zoro was already fast asleep in his chair, his head leaning back, mouth wide open, and was snoring up a storm. Sanji had a huge urge to punch him in the face, but his pressing desire to hear what Lena had to say took priority. "Just ignore Marimo Lena-chan." He got out through gritted teeth and an angry smirk._

_She took a deep breath. "Ok. Right. Here we go. _

_My mom had me when she was sixteen. She met my dad, a marine soldier, when he stopped in Port Rica on his way to training. His boat had suffered some extra damage from a recent storm, and he was staying longer than usual. My mom at that time was a beautiful young adolescent, and therefore well known in such a small place. She was also extremely upbeat, rambunctious, spunky kid, which I think is where I get it from. So it's no surprise that when a lost, handsome young marine came up to her asking for directions, they immediately hit things off. They spent every day together after that, and soon fell in love. A couple days before he left he had to tell her that he was leaving. Needless to say, my mom was devastated, but he promised he would write her every day, and that he would come back for her. My mom wanted to do something to make sure he would never forget her, and that night, after they both had a couple drinks… one thing lead to another… I think you get the picture. When she finally found out that she was pregnant it was the morning my father was leaving. She ran to the port and caught him just before he got on his ship, and begged him to stay with her to help her have a child. But he was furious. He blamed my mom for getting herself pregnant, and said he wouldn't risk his own future for someone else's problem. He left that day, and she hasn't seen him since._

_I have never met my father._

_She wrote him countless letters, of course. Begging him to come back at first, then just asking for some kind of support. All went unanswered._

_So, my mom, not even considering abortion, went through nine months of hell at age sixteen. She was ostracized, criticized, gossiped about, subsequently judged, all right in front of her eyes. And yet, nobody said a word to her. Friends, family, her own parents even; she was totally abandoned. _

_When I heard all this, I couldn't imagine why she didn't run away. Honestly, I still can't understand it. But either way, she stuck it out. I came into the world, and two years later she came out of the house that had tortured her for their entirety. We moved to a much smaller place on the top of a hill, away from everything that had hurt her. But that is not where the pain ended."_

_Lena paused at that moment and faked a laugh before she continued on. "I know I wasn't exactly alive for all of this, but something changed about my mom once I came into the picture. Something snapped._

_Gone was that fun, bright, smiling young girl. Somehow, she was slowly turning into the person who she hated the most; the person who hated whoever it is she was. She got her job as a bartender at a local pub and inn as soon as she found out she was pregnant, in order to first pay for the house, and then for me. Most of what I know about this stuff comes from the owner Rick. Rick's an old fart now, he's always been totally bald but his long gray beard has gotten a solid foot longer than when we were first introduced. It's his pride and glory. He was the only one to show my mom any kind of compassion, although it was mostly pity. I'm just lucky that he grew to like her or I might have had a very different childhood. _

_Anyways, going back to what I said, after I was born, my mom…I guess...changed is the only way to describe it. She stopped complaining. She changed the way she thought about the world. She stayed home with me when I was an infant, then went back to work as soon as she could leave me alone, coming back to check on me every couple of hours or so. She came home at the same time late every night, made us dinner, scarfed it down, showered, then went straight to bed, all usually while I was still at the dinner table. The weekends were here release from the dreadful cycle. She would sleep almost all day, then go out with her friends all night. Occasionally, I would notice that a man would leave early in the morning before she got up. Sometimes it was the same guy for a couple weeks in a row, but usually it was a pretty varied assortment. She was working her hardest for the both of us, but she still wanted to lead a normal life. She was still only eighteen, and I had to understand that._

_But unfortunately, I didn't immediately click. In fact, I didn't know what to make of it. Of any of it. So I cried. Jesus Christ did I cry a lot. I have to give my mom credit because I wouldn't know how to handle myself. When I was hungry, I cried. When I was hurt, I cried. When I was confused, I cried. When I was lonely, I cried and cried and cried. And that was a lot. My mom would come home to me crying, fix me up, and then keep going in her schedule like she was some kind of machine. She never told me how to bathe myself, so I cried about it until one day I figured it out. But that process wasted an entire bottle of shampoo so she yelled at me. It never occurred to her that she never taught me how to wash myself. Being a mother wasn't about compassion to her. I was always her daughter, and she always, she still does care for me, but…she didn't want a companion. She just needed proof of her existence._

_She was determined to show the bastards who judged her that she could be a mother who raised a beautiful child. One who was respectful and polite, and acceptable, in order to somehow prove that if she could raise someone like that she must also therefore be like that. And she would prove everything they said about her wrong. Because then she would be loved again. I think that was her theory._

_From day one she worked me into her plan as another gear turning to her tune. I had to do my job just like she had to do hers. So, I always wore pretty dresses. And I kept my hair very neat. And I wouldn't speak out of turn. And I would do as I was told. And I would always smile. And I would always play nicely with my friends. And I would always do what they asked me. And I would be especially polite to their mothers. And that would make people like me, and by some twisted sense like her too."_

_Lena exhaled deeply again, and covered her hands with her eyes. She didn't speak for a moment. She was carefully thinking of what to say next. Slowly, she dropped her hands. "Bleechhh" she grunted out loud. Then, she started laughing. All the while she was still staring at the ceiling. Sanji was very honestly confused. "Ah! Sorry Sanji-san let's keep going. I just haven't thought about these things in a while, and thinking back to them all at once is kind of surprisingly exhausting." She looked back down and gave him a weak smile._

_He returned it kindly. "We've got all the time in the world," he said soothingly. Lena picked up where she left off. She quickly found herself lost in her own thoughts once again, narrating her story while looking at the ceiling, as if she could have been saying it to the sky and whoever was currently residing instead._

"_I think…I might be putting my mom in a bad light here. I haven't lived a bad life. I've had food on my plate and a roof above my head for my entire life. I am extremely grateful to my mother for raising me the way that she did. She worked hard so that I could live the life that was robbed from her, and I can never repay her for that. It's just, and I know I'm going to sound contradictory again…Ok so when I was little and we went shopping in the marketplace, I always found in kind of strange that there would be these parents walking around with their child, and they would be holding hands and smiling as they walked. Sometimes, they would swing their child into the air, and the child would laugh and say, 'I love you mommy and daddy!' Why wasn't my mommy like that? Why didn't mommy say I love you to me like that? Mommy just said, 'I love good girls.' _

_And I was not always a good girl. Which is probably why I felt so uneasy about seeing that stuff. It was new and unfamiliar at such a young age. Like I said from the very beginning I would cry all the time. One night-I later realized that she was probably super hungover- my mom was sitting at our table with a major headache. She had just emerged for the first time since she came home that morning from her bedroom, and made enough progress to sit in her pain at the table. Accordingly, my seven year old self hadn't been fed all day. So I finally broke down and cried. Oh boy did I cry that night. My mother of course, was already in a bad mood, and was getting more and more pissed off by the second. I can still remember what she said and exactly how she said it so clearly. "SHUT UP LENA! NOBODY WANTS TO HEAR YOU CRYING!" Those words cut through me. There was a pain in my chest so unbearable that I wanted to rip my heart out so she could check if there was anything wrong with it. But then I realized she didn't want to see if there was something wrong with my heart._

_So I stopped crying that night._

_When I got a little older, I started going into town instead of staying home by myself. Sometimes I would visit mom and Rick by the bar. Usually, though, I would wander around the marketplace. I wanted friends to play with. I saw the boys and girls who ran around the fountain and through the streets. They were always laughing. And when I asked, they would let me play with them too. But then some of them would say they couldn't play with me anymore, and that their mommies and daddies didn't want them being with me. So my friend options were limited, but nonetheless I was just glad to have them around. I didn't care how many there were._

_No matter how much work my mom put into it, some people just saw me as the daughter of a whore. A pitiful child from unfortunate circumstances, but equally as despicable._

_I think what my mom was most frustrated to see was how much of herself was reflected in me. I was spunky and wild and everything she was trying to abandon herself. If any of my friends were getting picked on I would stick up for them. I would even get into fights for them. Whenever I came home with a black eye or a bloody nose my mom would go ballistic! "Why are you doing this Lena?!"She would always ask._

"_They were bullying her mom."_

"_Good girls don't get into fights!"_

_I would never have an answer for that one._

_But I didn't stop. It drove her crazy, and I knew it, but when push came to shove my friend was crying and I had to do something about it. Crying's bad, right mom?_

_And I was never into ruffles either! I wanted to wear shorts, but she wouldn't have it! Skirts are prettier! Dresses make you look so elegant! I wanted shorts and t-shirts so I could run easier. She said looking _

_And you'd think my mom hates the marines, right? Hardly. Marines are courageous, just men who devote their lives to upholding peace. I'd be lucky if I could marry a marine, and I should strive to do so. I'm quoting here, by the way. It's so…weird! It's just so weird. My mom should be the number one person to hate the marines! But she's still one of them, even when they treated her like garbage. She wanted to prove the fundamental principles of the city wrong, yet changed to become exactly what she's fighting, because they pushed her so. I think that maybe somewhere in her that sixteen year old girl is still holding out for my dad, secretly hoping that he still loves her and will come back for her. Isn't that…sad?_

_I don't know exactly when I blossomed out of my protective cocoon, and was fully exposed to my true disposition. But it was not sudden, or shocking. It was a gradual accumulation of information that made me feel upset, and a little guilty. And that's what made me see that maybe all marines are not all good. And maybe all pirates are not all bad. And maybe my mother should have realized that I could have loved her. But I am not what my mother envisioned. I'm too much her own daughter. And my whole life she was desperately trying to change me so that she could still have her fantasy where everything just goes back to 'normal.' _

_She didn't see me as me."_

_Lena paused again and closed her eyes. She thought long and hard about how to phrase her words. After a long moment she spoke up again._

"_She wanted me to find love, but I didn't know what to look for._

* * *

><p>Robin was reading a book in her study, but she noticed that this was the third time she was reading the same page and she still didn't know what it said. She was far too concerned with what Chopper said after dinner to be reading right now. She closed her book and got up. She needed to be doing something to think. She started walking around the circular room, tracing her fingers along the edges of the various books placed in the shelves that scaled from the floor to the ceiling. The ex-assassin in her really came in handy at times like these.<p>

_If someone was really out to hurt Lena, why would they attack her head from behind? She wouldn't see who it was, yes, but there wasn't much pain involved. It was a one hit K-O. Plus, there were no other external injuries. This wasn't much of a punishment display, which means it might not solely have to do with her involvement with the Mugiwara Pirates. So then why was she attacked? Think Robin, Think. You saw that the wound was still fresh when she was brought back to the ship. Which means she was doing something for almost two hours before she was attacked. Also, she was in an alleyway. Why was she in such a remote location? What would she be doing for two hours that would put her there, in such an unideal location, out of all places? This is too vague! Narrow it down. The wound. It was caused by a blunt object by the looks of things. It wasn't precise. Head injuries often involve brain damage; did the attackers want Lena to forget something? Did they want her to forget that she was with us? No, that can't be it. Why would she be in a desolate ally if they wanted her to be found by the townspeople? They must have known that we would be looking for her. So they wanted us to find her. They wanted us to find a girl, who they know we would give medical care to, but she can't remember why she was attacked. What was Lena doing in those two hours? Who attacked her? What is their goal?_

Nico Robin was hungry for more information. This was only the first step. She was sure that there's more to this than what meets the eye, and it had been a long time since she had faced a mystery so…_enticing_.

**Ok so this chapter was a little shorter than last time. Sorry about that. I need to go into some major league planning to figure out what do from here. I want to get into more action with the core characters, and I think I'm going to start my first arc with Lena and the gang. I would love suggestions and reviews!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Ok I am so, SO sorry this chapter took me so long! I think I rewrote every sentence like three times. But it's the longest chapter I've written so far if that makes up for anything. I've kept you waiting long enough, so without any further delay; I present to you chapter 6! Oh, but before I forget I don't own one piece aaand don't forget to review, and or follow/fave! Ok! Here it is!**

**Chapter 6**

Lena's eyes shot open. She was once again greeted by the same, bleak, off-white ceiling. That was the fourth time she had woken up that night.

_It's those damn noises!_ She cursed to herself. But it was true.

Every time she fell asleep she found herself in the dark place again.

_Telling…basically her life story so far really tired Lena out. Sanji closed the door as quietly as he could, then walked back to the men's quarters. She waited for the sound of his footsteps to grow faint, until they disappeared completely. Then she relaxed. For some reason, she needed to be totally alone to do so. She didn't give it much though. Honestly, it was subconscious. Shortly after she fell right asleep._

"_NO! NO! LET ME OUT! PLEASE LET ME OUT!" Lena pounded the ground ferociously, though she couldn't see it. Everything that surrounded her was darkness, yet she was kneeling on something definitely solid. The unnerving thing was that only touch could tell where the solid ended and the emptiness started._

_Lena's fist hit the ground one last time before she realized something. "Wait a second, this is just a dream…isn't it?" The trickle of noises were quickly starting to grow louder, causing her to panic even more. "I'm dreaming, I'm dreaming! Wake up Lena! Wake up! Wake UP!" She pinched herself. Nothing happened. She pulled her hair. Same result. She started crying, but pure nothingness caries no compassion._

_Then Lena felt a terribly familiar sensation. The pressure of an uncountable number of deafening noises converged on her once again. From her kneeling position she unintentionally brought her head down to the ground, and her hands up to her ears. She cried out in agony, and fear. She knew there would be no escaping this hell anymore. _

_She knew she had to bear it, so she did._

Then she woke up.

She had huge drops of sweat running down her face.

_It was just a dream again…_ She sighed shakily, but put on a weak smile as she wiped her cheeks.

_It wasn't real. It was just a bad dream._

So, with another wonderfully scarring experience under her belt, a very tired Lena-chan walked into the dining hall, much to the surprise of the Mugiwara Pirate Chef. She had a serious case of bed-head and there were traces of forming bags under her melancholy eyes. She was wearing a pale green T-shirt and pale blue shorts, with one of the white medical-room blankets tightly wrapped around her body, the ends slightly dragging behind her.

This early in the morning Sanji is usually the only one up to prepare breakfast for everyone else. This morning, equipped with his essential daily mug of coffee, he was just getting started on making breakfast, and had just gotten all the ingredients out of the fridge or other storage areas. This was his favorite part of the day, listening to only the beautiful sound of kitchen knives and sizzling pans while he had the perfect view of the sunrise.

Which is why he found it very odd when he thought he heard the door open. He looked out the window of the kitchen and was greeted with such an unkempt sight.

"Lena-chan! What are you doing out of bed?! You should be resting!"

"I can't sleep Sanji."

Sanji's more…sympathetic side was brought out by Lena's subsequent puppy dog face. Plus she pulled the blanket over her head and plopped down in one of the chairs by the dining table. It was undeniably adorable.

"EHHHHH?! DID MY BEAUTIFUL LENA-CHWAN HAVE A NIGHTMARE?!" Peeking out from underneath her shell, Lena saw various foods and cooking accessories being discarded out the kitchen window in Sanji's frenzy. He was concocting something so quickly that a comical dust cloud formed and blocked her view. Sanji came running out of it just as insanely fast as he created it, and placed a steaming mug in front of Lena that smelled _amazing_. It was topped with a mountain of whipped cream, two biscuits peeking out of it, and cinnamon powder sprinkled on top. It was in a word…food porn. Lena didn't know what it was but she was immediately and extremely delighted.

"For the petite mademoiselle we have a delicious cup of hot cocoa. It'll make you forget about any silly nightmares of the past." Sanji spoke in a smooth, soothing voice, with a profound calming effect. His sudden, drastic change in attitude seemed borderline bipolar, which made her giggle a little bit before taking a sip. She exhaled deeply as she felt the heat spread throughout her entire body and her taste-buds bathe in a rush of sweet, decadent chocolate.

But something about that hazy cloud of darkness stayed rooted in her mind; constantly looming over her shoulder in case her mind faltered in the slightest bit. Even though Sanji's genuine concern comforted her, she still pulled the blanket around her even tighter. _What if it happens again? I don't even want to think about it. I never want to have to bear that again, I'd rather…_

_Die!_

Sanji noticed Lena's eyes drift to the floor. No doubt that she wasn't with him at the moment. She was thinking about something. Definitely something not good.

_Shit…Again? Did the cocoa not work?_ He thought to himself.

The same girl he met by the fountain didn't tell Sanji that story last night. It was someone else, whose eyes were exhausted. He knew she was scared, if he didn't he wouldn't have been up all night worrying about her, and what to do. _Why has it come to this?!_

Sanji hated when he asked himself that question. Because it always came to the same answer.

_Because you're an idiot who isn't even strong enough to protect one little girl!_

"Tch!" Sanji hit his cutting board with extra force. The piece of onion he was cutting went flying, which brought Lena's attention back to the present.

"Sanji, do you need some help?" Sanji was surprised to hear Lena's soft voice coming from behind the counter as he bent over to pick it up.

"No thank you, that's ok. You don't need to worry your cute little head about something like that."

_Good, she's back. Ok. I can't be getting so worked up right now! I need to distract her! I won't let her be scared anymore! I already swore that to myself, dammit! Where is the noisiest crew in the Grand Line when you need them?_

"Do you like to cook Lena-chan?" _That's what you come up with?_

_Shut up subconscious, I don't need your shit right now._

"Do I like to cook? Uh, yeah, I would say so. I'm not very good at it, but I can make a decent pot of spaghetti. I'm pretty used to making the basics, nothing special."

"I love cooking! I basically grew up with it, so I could teach you a thing or two if you'd like."

"Grew up with it… what do you mean?"

"I've been cooking since I was a kid! My oldest memories take place on the Orbit, which was the ship I worked on as an apprentice chef. The guys I worked with there showed me how amazing it is to be a chef, how important we are, how powerful we can be! And ever since then it's been my dream to find All blue!"

"All…Blue?"

Sanji's eyes glowed with excitement as he told Lena all about his deepest ambition. He originally intended to get her talking so she would forget her worry, but in the end the opposite happened. Sanji lost himself in his momentum and ended up telling her about Zeff and the Baratie and how he first met Luffy and the rest of the Mugiwara crew. He never looked up from his work though. Instead he floated effortlessly around the kitchen in a natural rhythm while he spoke and spoke, never losing his momentum, and yet never making any mistakes while preparing the dishes. The whole sight really summed himself up perfectly; he felt at home when he cooked.

Lena listened intently to what he had to say from her perch by the counter. Occasionally, she would ask him little questions to further encourage his tale, like "what's that?" or "did you really do that?" His emotions were clearly conveyed behind his words. It wasn't just cooking; Sanji was passionate about everything he did. It was a pleasure to hear him speak so vibrantly, and it was also a bit relieving. She knew from the start that the whole thing was a ploy to cheer her up, and she regretted being so visibly upset. _I've got to keep it in. I don't want anyone to worry about me._

For the time being though, Lena let herself be absorbed into Sanji's story.

And before either of them knew it Nami, Robin, and Brook walked in.

"Ah! Good morning!" Sanji said, as if this occasion was the most common thing in the world. He brought them each a piping hot cup of tea as they sat down at the dining table. Three "thank you's" were said in a chorus, then Sanji came back to the kitchen put the finishing touches on breakfast. Lena noted the regularity in everybody's expressions. She didn't even notice when Sanji paused making breakfast to put on the kettle, since he never broke from his story. Even in such a hectic ship, there was still an odd sense of pristine schedule. It made Lena smile. There was a lot more to these people than appeared to be.

And after months of the same routine, Sanji had noted a couple of things too.

Those three are usually the earliest ones up beside himself. Robin says that she's always had a habit of waking up early. But it was more along the lines of she never really slept in the same place for very long. After years of being a wanted criminal on the run, she probably couldn't afford being totally unaware and unprotected.

Nami feels the need be up early so she can check on the weather, and make sure the ship is travelling on course. She also sneaks into the treasury and does a little head count before making her way into the dining room, although she has chosen to keep that part of her routine to herself. But Sanji eventually noticed as well.

And Brook just likes to be in the presence of ladies. More opportunities to see their panties.

After her first sip, Nami noticed a form sitting on one of the stools in a blanket burrito. When she looked closely, she could see a couple of light blond strands of hair peeking out.

"Lena! Shouldn't you be in bed?" She asked. Robin and Brook looked up as well.

Lena was nervous being confronted with so many concerned faces. "I think I've been in bed long enough, Nami-san! I'm feeling better already!" She tried to give them a sincere grin. But it was difficult. Robin noticed how here movements seemed forced, and her smile was not the same as the ones that lit up her face on the beach. She however, was much better at concealing her emotions.

"That's good to hear. I'm glad to see you back to your normal self again." Robin gave her a fake, much more convincing, full-hearted smile and took another sip of tea.

After placing the final piece of decorative parsley, Sanji enthusiastically said, "There! All done!" He was extremely pleased with his latest work of art; omelets with broccoli, feta cheese, onions, and kale. There was also toast on the side, and additional toppings of ketchup and or hot sauce. Drinks being served were tea, coffee, and orange juice. Sanji then whisked from the kitchen in the blink of an eye, and before Lena knew it the entire table was ornately set with fancy silver cutlery and porcelain plates. Nami, Robin, and Brook simply lifted up their cups so he could set their places, and none of them even had to look up to do so.

The whole spectacle was only ruined by one thing.

"Um, excuse me, Nami-san, Robin-san, could I please see you panties?"

"LIKE HELL!"

Brook was thrown across the room by Nami's karate kick, where he hit the wall and slid down it mumbling "Yohoho! I must start the day by asking!"

"I wish you'd give it a rest already though!" Nami seemed exasperated and slumped back into her chair. Sanji and Robin chuckled, and Lena, still very, very confused as to why a skeleton would need to see a girl's undies, decided to as well.

Then Sanji walked outside and yelled down to the mens' cabin "OI YOU SHITHEADS! BREAKFAST IS READY!" Even from far away he could hear a certain someone wearing a straw hat yell "FOOD!" Followed by the sound of that same person falling out of bed.

Luffy and the rest of the crew filed into the dining room, eagerly anticipating breakfast. They were all pretty shocked too to see Lena there. Luffy said that he was so happy she finally got out of bed, and that he was wondering if her legs had stopped working along with her memory.

Zoro wasn't as impressed. He turned to look at Sanji, who was bringing out everyone's plates of food as they made their way to sit down at the table. He saw how she was doing her best to smile back at Luffy, but his comment had caught her off guard, and a bit of her apprehension leaked out. The swordsman and the chef caught each other's eyes for a split second, before Sanji turned away. That was all the recognition Zoro needed; he knew they were thinking the same thing.

For some reason both men had developed an unusual paternal feeling for Lena. They felt the desire to keep her safe, and away from any more hardships. Did they pity her? No, it was more than that. They felt responsible for what happened on a deeper level than anyone else. If only they were stronger, if only they had stayed with her that day. They berated themselves with feelings of regret and shame, and unconsciously developed such a protective sense. But interestingly enough, while it was totally apparent to each other, they would ever speak a word of it to anybody else. Death was much preferable. It would mean admitting their weaknesses. It would make them lesser men. And that was not an option.

As a result, they immediately noticed Lena's different behavior. Although honestly it wasn't that hard. Robin noticed it too. She was emitting a bad aura. She needed more training, Zoro thought to himself. But no one wanted to make a little girl with a serious head injury worry about them, so no one said anything to her. They went on with their day, and tried their best to ignore her weary eyes for the time being.

Breakfast went well. Nobody pressed Lena too hard about if she was feeling alright, or if she needed anything.

Currently, Sanji was still in the kitchen doing dishes, but the rest of the crew was on the deck having fun in a multitude of ways. On the other side of the galley Zoro was lifting weights way over the normal and safe weight measurements. The crew knew that area to be Zoro's designated spot, and he was glad that they chose not to bother him. He had more time to his thoughts.

Everyone else was soaking up the sun by the lawn deck.

"Oi Nami why aren't we going anywhere?" Luffy asked. He was sprawled out on his favorite spot with his tongue hanging loosely out of his mouth, wearing a pair of swim trunks, his straw hat, and of course his straw sandals.

"What choice do we have? There's no wind today! You'll just have to put up with the heat!" Nami snapped back at him. And she was right. Unfortunately for the Mugiwara Pirates, the cloud that they had been under made the impression of a nice, cool day, but once they got out of it they learned the terrible truth. It was a brutally hot day, at least 90°F. Combined with the lack of wind and the reflection of the sun from the calm ocean, the heat was insane. Everyone was taking the necessary precautions, like wearing their bathing suits, and for the girls their floppy hats and sunglasses. Franky had his hair set to his buzz cut battle-mode to beat the heat.

Lena was sporting a cute dark purple two piece. Very plain. The top was tied basically as tight as it could go and the bottom was secured with a safety pin. It was Nami's after all.

"_Lena-chan, do you want to borrow one of our bathing suits?"_

"_Are you sure that's ok Nami-san? I'm ok staying in this" Lena said, referring to the t-shirt and shorts outfit she had on presently._

"_It's totally fine! I've got plenty that would look great on you!" And with that Nami excitedly took Lena's hand and lead her to her closet, where she gave her tons of bathing suits of different colors and patterns to try on. The problem, which she and Robin soon figured out, was that Lena was too tiny to fit into any. So they came up with a more creative solution._

"_Hey Nami-san, Robin-san, what ever happened to my clothes? When Sanji…found me, I couldn't have been naked right?" Lena was in the midst of trying on a blue one piece that was cut low in the back. It had orange polka dots, and it would have looked quite cute on her, if it weren't that the top was so loose, especially in the chest area. She didn't speak to them directly, rather she spoke as she looked into the mirror at her reflection._

"_Oh. Uh…about that…" Nami seemed at a loss of what to say. Lena couldn't see what her face looked like, but she wasn't expecting such a reaction. She looked over to the two older women standing behind her, curious as to why they were acting so weird all of a sudden._

_Robin was the one to finally speak up. "Gomen, Lena. You were wearing a pretty white dress with a pink ribbon under the collar, but we couldn't get the blood out. We still have it, if you want. We just didn't know if we should give it to you yet." Robin spoke carefully, not wanting to scare Lena. She waited for the tears, or at the very least pout to come._

"_Oh! Well, um, that's ok! I never really liked those dresses anyways! They were too frilly! I don't really like ruffles, you know?" Lena laughed nervously and turned back to the mirror. "I like this one! All we need to do is tighten it, but you guys have some safety pins right?"_

Lena sighed after she realized she had lost herself in a flashback again. She was leaning on the top of the staircase leading down to the deck. Up until then she had been enjoying the view of the various Mugiwara pirates. Actually most of them weren't doing much, being that it was so hot and what not, but Lena found the peace quite comforting. And lately it has seemed like noisy things just keep getting louder and louder. It's a scary feeling. Bad memories.

Noise was a problem. But quiet was starting to become one too. Sanji had a loose grasp of it, but when Lena wasn't occupied with something her thoughts somehow always found their way to the same place.

Her fear. Her pain. The feeling of being totally powerless.

Nobody could help her. She knew that. Regardless of whether they were pirates or not, what could the crew do to help her? What could anyone do? How do you explain to someone that you're being tortured by some kind of darkness where there are these loud noises that cause you immense pain? Oh, and this whole place may or may not actually exist.

And yet she was dragging them down. Everyone who was being so kind to her, she was making them worry about her.

_I'm the worst. Just the worst!_

"Wait a second, I have a great idea! You guys, let's go swimming!" Usopp jumped out of his exhaustion with his sudden burst of genius, and it encouraged others to do the same.

"That's a pretty SUPER idea! We're all wearing our bathing suits!"

"Yeah but you're _always _wearing a bathing suit." Usopp said flatly.

"Baka! This is my extra-special hot days tiger print speedo that also has a convenient waterproof ability! It's not just my ordinary fashion!" A bunch of snickers came from the bystanders.

"It's hard to call completely exposing your hairy legs fashion though." Nami added in.

Then the crew burst into laughter. They all had been thinking the same thing, but Nami put it into words beautifully. Franky, who couldn't beat such a well-crafted insult, just blushed embarrassedly.

"You guys are so lucky that you get to swim," Luffy pouted and yelled over. He still hadn't moved. He actually stretched his head further down the lion in his new depression.

"What can you do Luffy you ate a devil's-"

"ENEMY SHIP SPOTTED!" Luffy interrupted Usopp and jumped up to face the incoming attack.

"EH?!"

"What did you say?" Sanji chose an ideal time to come bursting out of the dining room. He ran up to the crow's nest and looked towards Luffy's direction through a telescope.

"He's right!" He called down. "There are about…five marine warships coming towards us! They're not yet in cannon range though…"

As if on cue a tiny black dot shot out of the foremost ship. About a second later, it hit the Sunny head on.

"Oi Sanji didn't you just say it was out of cannon range?" Franky asked angrily.

"It should be! No normal ship can shoot on target from that far away! Well whatever, everyone! Get ready for an attack!" Sanji jumped down from the nest and stood alongside Luffy and Zoro, who heard the impact and ran over. They would be taking care of any further cannonballs.

Usopp headed to the men's quarters to grab his weapon, Nami needed to grab her Climatact as well and did the same. Robin, Chooper, and Brook, who already had his sword, took their offensive stances as a second wall of defense, and Franky manned the steering wheel.

Lena was a little overwhelmed by everyone's pace. She felt her legs walk backwards until a wall was behind her.

_What should I do? I'm scared! It's going to be really loud. I need to get away. But why, why can't I move?!_

Lena was once again paralyzed by her own fear. This was becoming an unfortunately common problem for her.

She started breathing faster. She felt her knees shaking.

_No. Not again. Not like this! I told myself no. NO! I'D RATHER-_

"LENA!"

Lena was snapped out of her panic and looked to where her name was called from. It was waraji-captain-san. His back was turned to her, facing the oncoming fleet that was quickly drawing near. Sanji and Zoro were taking care of the cannonballs, with a little help from Robin's hana-hana no mi if a stray one got past them. He stood very tall, never moving from his spot on top of the figure head, never doubting that his nakama would protect him at any cost.

"Don't worry! We'll take care of these guys in a second." He gave her a huge grin before she heard him yell, "gomu gomu no fuusen!" He expanded his torso to deflect three oncoming attacks, and once he landed joined in the fray of defending the ship. Sanji and Zoro both grinned. Sometimes their captain had a way with words, despite his mediocre vocabulary most of the time.

Lena was astounded at how calm waraji-captain-san could be during such chaos. And for it to be him of all people! It was amazing. But the admiration was short lived.

The marines were now within breaching distance, and they started boarding the Sunny-Go. The whole Mugiwara crew was engaged in combat. It didn't seem like any of them in particular were having much trouble fending off their enemies, but the problem laid in their numbers. The pirates were outnumbered, and the cannons weren't stopping.

Three more hit. That's when Lena slipped. As expected, she couldn't take the staggering volume anymore. Her headache was so bad that she was sure her skull was splitting in two. The events that happened after that occurred to her in a daze. There were marines yelling. She could also hear the individual voices of each crew member. They were much clearer. Swords were clashing, she could hear the metals collide. Guns were being shot, she could hear the expulsion of the bullet. She could hear everything as if she were floating above the dimension where it was all taking place. Like it was coming to her with some kind of static jamming the signal.

The battle was growing prolonged, but the multitudes of sounds didn't waver. But she couldn't distinguish the footsteps coming near her. She was sitting against the center of the wall above the deck, head against her knees.

"Who the hell is this?"

A marine kicked her against the banister on the right side of the ship, and she roughly fell on her side. Something in her mind registered that she was just kicked, but she was already on sensory overload, and the pain didn't click. She did however, hear his boot hit her skin, and her head hit the floor. Not good for the girl with a concussion.

"Oi! It's just a kid!"

"Is she part of the crew too?"

"We received information that there's only nine people in the crew!"

"Is she a hostage then?"

"We would have received a missing person report from her town by now, right?"

"Then she must be a crew member!"

"Kill her!"

Sanji's woman-in-danger radar turned on just in time for him to see a group of six marines surrounding Lena. And she was…_lying on the ground?!_

"LENA-CHAN!"

"Shit! Lena!" Zoro had looked up from the idiot cook's shout.

"Lena!"

"Lena, watch out!"

The crew members were all facing a similar problem. They were surrounded by too many enemies to get to her in time.

"DON'T YOU TOUCH HER WITH YOUR FILTHY HANDS YOU BASTARDS!" Luffy screamed in desperation.

"**SKY WALK!"**

In a flash Sanji's foot was blocking a sword from reaching Lena's neck.

Lena looked up to see a hazy man with blond hair standing in front of her. Another man in a white and blue uniform was in front of him.

…_Sanji…?_

"What the fuck-"One kick sent the swordsman marine flying.

"Do you think you're doing-"Two more kicks.

"To a LADY?!"Three last kicks and that bunch was history. He almost regretted having to use his sky walk on such weaklings.

"Good job Sanji!" Luffy yelled over to him.

_Fast bastard._ Zoro privately thought.

"Franky, this is getting out of hand! We need to use a coup do burst and get out of here!" Nami shouted up at the shipwright from the deck below.

"I'm two steps ahead of you Nami! Luffy, is that OK with you?"

"Yeah! These guys are getting really annoying. They're never-ending!"

Sanji leaned over to help Lena who was still lying on the floor. "Lena-chan, are you hurt any-"

"COUP DO…"

The marine army looked at the cannon at the cannon at the back of the Mugiwara ship. It started lighting up and shaking the ship. The captain of the fleet ran to the railing of his ship and looked over.

"MEN! GET OFF THEIR SHIP!" He knew what would be coming next from previous reports. That was the infamous Mugiwara escape plan, with 100% effectiveness.

"Cannons! Aim at the sky! Don't let them get away unscathed!"

"Yes sir!"

"…BURST!"

With that the Sunny-Go flew out of the water, and past the Marines with ease.

"Good job Franky!"

Their path was clear. The ocean ahead of them was empty and calm.

_CRASH!_

Unfortunately, however, that captain was a more formidable enemy than they gave him credit for. The last cannon shot hit the back end of the Sunny, giving him one last glance of it twisting out of control before it was completely out of sight.

The ship landed miles away on a nasty angle almost totally on its side.

Lena, being right at the edge to begin with, was immediately thrown off.

With the splash that the ship made it was barely even noticeable.

Sanji couldn't see it because his eyes were closed from the impact. The same went for everybody else.

"Oi! Is everybody OK?" Luffy was the first voice heard after the ship steadied itself a short moment later.

Eight other voices confirmed their safety.

"Oi. Where's…Lena?" Zoro asked, still panting.

"Is this somebody's idea of a sick joke?! Because if it is then it's NOT FUNNY!"

Lena once again woke up to utter darkness.

But she was taking a different approach this time.

She was screaming at the top of her lungs into the darkness. She didn't know where she was screaming to, but she didn't need to. It was listening to her.

"Show yourself you coward! Come out here and fight me! There are never just sounds! They have to be coming from somewhere! So get out here! Bastard!

This is all your fault! This is all YOUR FAULT!

That was Sanji protecting me. I'm sure of it. You're making me put my friend's lives at danger now?

Everything up until now has been because of you! The agony both in…wherever this is, and with out there!

I realize now that I was wrong. I was wrong to be afraid of you. To cower in fear that you would once again find me. To wallow in my own self-pity feeling like I was powerless to stop you. For a while I had fooled myself into thinking like that, but even worse I made everyone worry about me. They've been nothing but good to me, but I'm just the worst kind of person. Well, I am still the worst kind of person, but I will _not _be powerless anymore.

I KNOW NOW THAT I SHOULD HAVE BEEN ANGRY AT YOU!"

Lena's throat was burning from all her screaming. She had to pause to regain her breath.

That's when she started to hear the noises. She was probably drowning them out herself before. They were pretty loud and only growing louder. She knew it wouldn't be long before they inflicted their full power, but she was too fired up to lose her intensity. For the first time in too long her eyes were showing true emotion. Pure rage and passion.

"I said I'm not afraid of your shit anymore! Stop hiding behind your old tricks and fight me! Fight me you son of a bitch!"

True to her word, Lena suddenly felt the massive presence of the noises right on top of her. They were as brutal as ever. She staggered a bit, but didn't lose her footing. That would have been the end. But she persevered. Faltering meant backing down. This time, backing down would mean death.

"I thought I told you…**TO STOP IT!"**

Her voice resounded through the emptiness.

And strangely enough,

It was quiet.

Lena started coughing up water.

Slowly, her consciousness started coming back to her, and she opened her eyes.

She saw a very wet Zoro to her right leaning over her and saying something.

"-na? Lena? Say something! Lena!"

Her eyes wandered over to her left, where Chopper-chan was in his heavy-point transformation. He was sitting down and panting.

_Chopper? Zoro?_

Lena quickly sat up. She remembered what happened. She remembered she got knocked out. And she remembered what happened afterwards.

_Where's Sanji?_ Was the first thing she thought.

But she didn't immediately get a response. She was tackled in a bear hug instead. Everyone was too relieved that she had finally woken up for it to fully register in their brains.

"You guys, what's wrong? Oi!" Between the tears of joy and tears of relief Lena was thoroughly confused.

"You… weren't breathing." Chopper told her through labored breaths. He was back into his smaller form.

"Eh?"

"You were thrown overboard when we landed. Geez, try to be a little more careful next time!" Zoro said from her other side. He had a scowl on his face that said, "you had me worried dammit!"

"What's wrong with you Lena? I thought you could swim!" Luffy said.

"You idiot! Who could swim in those rough waters?" Nami yelled at him, then proceeded to punch him for good measure.

"I can swim! That was just too weird! As soon as I hit the water it felt like all of my strength was gone!"

The rudest, most obnoxious pirates fell dead quiet. Then they all turned to her and let out a nine-way simultaneous "huh?"

Robin gasped. That was it. That was the next puzzle piece. That was the answer!

"Lena," she began to say, "I think that in our absence so many days ago, you ate a devil's fruit."

"Eh?" Lena said.

Followed by "EEEEEHHHHHH?" From the Mugiwara crew.

"Why didn't you tell us you were going through so much pain?" Sanji couldn't contain his anger anymore. Lena just looked down at the ground and gripped her towel harder. She really did like it better when she had something wrapped around her.

Robin asked her if anything seemed different about herself after she woke up from being attacked. So Lena told them about waking up in darkness. Sanji had every right to be angry at her reluctance, she was even expecting it. But that didn't make her feel any better about it.

"Why didn't you tell us Lena?" He yelled at her again.

"Well what could you have done? Really? What could you? There was no way until now to tell that this was caused by a devil's fruit! I knew you guys were worried about me, but I didn't want to abuse your kindness anymore!"

That brought everyone to a halt. Lena looked around uncomfortably at so many surprised faces.

"Oi Lena. You're on a pirate ship. You can't be so selfish!" Luffy spoke with seriousness and a tad bit of agitation. "Don't just go deciding things on your own like that. What the hell are you talking about, 'abusing our kindness?' We're nakama, aren't we?"

"Nakama?"

"That's right! Nakama are people who you care about! People who you don't want to see in pain!" Luffy gave Lena his signature goofy grin.

Taking another look around, she saw that his other 'nakama' were all smiling too.

Lena was shocked, but thrilled. She felt all her worry slipping away. It was as if a huge weiht was being lifted off her chest. She took a deep breath, savoring the feeling of her lungs filling up with air in pure bliss.

"I'm sorry you guys! I'm sorry I was such an idiot!" She returned Luffy's smile with one of her own. It lit up her face in a nostalgic way. It was a great sight for sore eyes.

Meanwhile, Robin had been lost in her own thoughts and missed out on such a heartwarming moment. However, her contribution was incredibly important for the start of Lena's journey as the Mugiwara Crew's newest nakama.

"Lena-chan. I think you ate the koe-koe no mi."

**What did you think? Were you totally not expecting that? I was, but that's only because I wrote it. By the way, koe, also according to google translate, means voice. You can look it up to see exactly how it's pronounced. As usual, please review for suggestions. And if you loved it as much as I intended for you to do so, please follow or favorite!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hellooo again everyone! First of all I would like to thank you for not showing up at my house in an angry mob. I felt really bad about not updating for so long, but I swear to you I have had no time at all, and I wanted to make sure this was up to par for your quality standards! But I am not going to delay you and further! After all I know you've been dying to see the true essence of the koe-koe no mi!**

**I do not own one piece!**

**Please like/favorite/review!**

**Now read the damn thing!**

**Chapter 7**

"_Again with that Robin-san? I told you before, I've never eaten a devil's fruit!" Lena said._

"_It really does sound like you ate one though Lena-chan." Nami added in. She looked sympathetically at the little girl sitting across from her. She had been shaking ever since Robin dropped the news._

_Robin got up without a word and walked into the galley. The crew could hear the opening and rusting of a desk drawer before she quickly returned with a pen and a piece of paper in hand. She sat back down on the crate she had been occupying, sketched a little doodle, then turned it around to show Lena._

"_Lena-chan, have you ever seen anything that look like these before?" It was a picture of two devil's fruits, one apple-ish and one banana-ish._

"_Wow! Robin-san is so talented!"_

"_Thank you, but please answer the question."_

"_Those are devil fruits. This is the Grand Line; everybody knows what they look like. But I told you I didn't eat one! Hell I've never even met a devil fruit user before!"_

"_Huh?" Luffy, who up until that point had failed to follow the conversation, decided to speak up. He looked confused and just slightly ticked off. "What are you talking about Lena? I showed you my devil fruit power back in your hometown!"_

"_Huh? Did you?"_

"_EH? You don't remember?!"_

"_Memory Loss, remember stupid?" Nami said, softly bonking Luffy's head. It was more of a supplement to the reminder for added effect and less about hurting him._

_Robin was formulating once again. "If you have never seen one, and you don't remember eating one, then as I figured it must have been after you left the beach. Memory loss would make you forget about both after all. But it's just so strange. All evidence leads us to believe that you were deliberately attacked. So why would the attacker also give you a devil's fruit? They're incredibly rare, even more valuable, not to mention they're a huge power-up. It's like giving you superhuman strength, so why would someone who's trying to maul you give you one?"_

_Lena gripped her towel even harder. She was beginning to feel her nails press up against her skin through the cloth. She was undeniably terrified. It was so frustrating!_

* * *

><p>Lena struggled to sit up, and cursed at herself quietly for getting distracted again about what had happened the day before.<p>

"Lena-chan. I'm not going to go easy on you just because you were injured. Get back up." Robin's voice came over stern and firm.

Lena got onto her knees, but was starting to pant hard. Slowly, unsteadily, she placed one solid foot on the ground, and shakily lifted herself up, still panting as she looked to face Robin.

The rest of the Mugiwara crew was surrounding from above the lawn deck, which is where the two were working. This was their first chance to see Lena attempt to tap into her devil fruit's power, a sight nobody wanted to miss.

Chopper was unsure about the safety of this spectacle, considering he had only taken off Lena's bandages that morning, but Robin refused to take no for an answer.

"_We are pirates and this is the Grand Line. We can't afford to have dead weight on the battlefield. Yesterday has shown us that we won't always be there to protect Lena!" Robin's tone showed how serious she was, as if her piercing eyes staring down at the little Reindeer-doctor were not enough._

"_But Robin…Hey Sanji! Luffy! Are you guys OK with this?!" Chopper's retaliation was not proving to be very effective directly against the raven-headed woman._

_Luffy spoke up before Sanji had a chance to._

"_Of course! Don't you want to see Lena's ability too Chopper?"_

"_That's not what I' saying Luffy, I-"_

"_And also, you especially don't want anything to happen to Lena right? Right now she can't even fight. That's no good!"_

_Luffy's logic was astoundingly pristine._

_Chopper could feel himself losing the argument, but he couldn't shake off the feeling of dread that he felt! "I'm her doctor! And as her doctor I really don't think she should be doing this kind of thing right now!"_

"_Choper-chan!" Lena, who had been sitting on the medical bed with her bandages still right to her side, decided she had to speak up._

"_I agree with waraji-captain-san. I want to fight… with all of you!" She looked down at her fist, and clenched it in anticipation. She had on a dangerous grin paired with a dangerous look of determination and plain old guts._

"_Then let's go!" He took Robin and Lena's hands and led them out to the lawn deck, leaving Chopper in the medical center to stare blankly at the door they just walked out of._

The training was just starting, but Lena was already out of breath, and it was becoming increasingly obvious that she had no talent for hand-to-hand combat, which Robin decided to start out with. One kick to the abdomen sent her rolling across the floor.

"An ability user needs to have support from all aspects of the body before it can develop to its full potential. That means a firm mind, a firm will, and a firm body." Robin stood tall and spoke, not moving from her position across from her opponent.

"haah…haahh…"

Lena grimaced, still laboring to regain her posture.

"Right…I'm sorry Robin-san!"

She tried her best to hide it, but it took a lot of effort to lift her head and say that. Regardless she raised her fists and took her best stance.

_I'm the one who told Choper-chan not to worry about me! I don't want anyone to have to worry about me! So I have to stop being so god damn disgraceful right now!_

"Let's keep going!"

Robin liked the look in Lena's eyes as she said that. She liked the anger she saw in them, directed towards her own inadequateness. It took most people a long time to attain such a wise attitude. Robin couldn't help but put on a small smile as Lena charged at her once again. This time however, Robin did not have to command her to do so.

They sparred once again, this time it wasn't decided as quickly. Lena's lack of prior training was borderline embarrassing on her part, her punches were sloppy and her dodging was delayed and awkward. She started off with an attempted punch to the face, which Robin read from a mile away and simply moved one step to the side. Lena was caught off balance and stumbled forward, but immediately caught herself and quickly turned around to face her again. It took her a moment to register what to do next, afterwards which she decided to try to roundhouse kick Robin. But her movements were slow, due to a lack of experience and muscle, and Robin easily dodged it by stepping back. She let Lena's own momentum unsteady her, then placed her first attack; her own roundhouse kick coming from Lena's other side. Robin's le was straighter, faster, and hit a lot harder than Lena's would have. Basically the same result ensued as their other face-off, and Lena hit the ground once again.

"Gah!" She grunted in pain and frustration.

"Oi…is this maybe a little much?" Franky spoke softly to the nakama around him, sitting with their legs dangling over the banisters of the adjacent decks.

But Lena of course, mind her own will, heard him.

"No!" Once again she was struggling to bring herself back onto her knees, but persisting nonetheless. Her muscles were strained, she was sweating a lot, and her arms and legs were beginning to bruise, but she was ferociously determined.

"Please, let's keep going!" She spoke with intensity and passion, and a little louder than she initially intended to.

"Relax." Robin said to her. She walked over and helped Lena up, offering her a hand which Lena accepted in surprise.

"I can still keep going!"

"I'm sure you can, but you're not going to immediately get stronger overnight. Now you know what you need to work on, so let's keep going."

At this point Luffy, Chopper, and Brook all leaped down from the banister. Luffy was wearing his signature comical grin, Brook looked as excited as Lena could surmise, (it was hard to tell when he was all bones,) and Chopper was still a little apprehensive, but ready to help out.

"Lena, from what you have made it sound, right now you are consciously putting a barrier up around your mind, and blocking out your abilities. It might be for the best. It seems that when you are at your weakest points, like when you're unconscious for example, that barrier cracks and the full blunt of your power reaches you, which you obviously can't handle right now. But in order to control your power you have to face it. Right now you're bordering exhaustion…"

Lena pouted when Robin pointed it out. But it was true, everyone's voice was already crystal clear, and her ears were picking up much louder tones than were actually being given off.

"..Whether you like it or not, so your mental blockade should be significantly weaker. This is a perfect opportunity. Break it down yourself."

"Eh?!"

* * *

><p><em>Lena<em>_..._

Zoro, sitting above and to the left of Lena, had concern painted all over his face, clear as day.

_What the fuck is that woman playing at?_

He recalled a certain event, one that many of the other crew members also had flashing across through their memories as well. Lena's description of these…voices, was brutal. And nobody but she knew how painstakingly accurate it was. She described her fear, her pain, no, sheer agony, to everyone the night before as well. As you already know it made Sanji very, very upset. Upset that she kept it all to herself. And also mad at himself for not being able to help her sooner. Zoro was just mad at himself again. Mad at himself for not noticing Lena's pain, and mad for not acting on it in the slight moments that he did.

It was funny how similar he was to Lena in ways like that.

"Lena!"

He shouted down at her small form, which had taken one nervous step back and brought her arms close to her chest, clutching her hands together to try to keep them from shaking.

He knew how she was feeling. He knew she despised her own weakness. He knew she lusted to get stronger, like a beast lunging at its prey she was right there! She was the only one getting in her own way. Goddamit he knew that feeling so well!

"If you want to attain more power, then there is no place for fear inside of you. Vanquish it! And become stronger!"

His dark gray eyes were beaming, glaring down at Lena. She could feel the weight of his words, they were bare, but urgent and powerful.

"Zoro…"

She let his message resonate in her head once more, then turned to face the four in front of her.

She stood a little taller, spoke with a little more conviction, and shined with confidence.

"Right. Sorry you guys! I'm being such an annoying handful! Let's keep going!"

Zoro didn't need to show her a huge grin or a standing ovation. He could tell he did what he needed to, and she understood loud and clear. He smirked, just a little, but his satisfaction and pride were overflowing.

Lena, under any other circumstances, probably would have taken the time to thank Zoro, but right now she was too focused. He much preferred to watch her as she was now anyways.

"It's not every day that you get four experienced DF users to help thaw out a fresh one." Franky noted to his companions around him.

Usopp looked down at her and smiled. "Lena's pretty lucky".

"Lucky…or unlucky. I'm kind of worried at the thought of Luffy having his very own disciple." Nami said, with a kind of embarrassed and worried facial expression. Worried for Lena's sake, but embarrassed because Luffy was _their_ captain after all. They all had collective thoughts of Lena being taught to dance horribly with chopsticks stuck up her nostrils sprouting from her lower lip, under Luffy's instruction. In other words, Robin's intervention in this project suddenly became increasingly more imperative.

Robin started up again and jumped right back into their previous pace.

"When I want to make an extra set of hands appear, let's say on Luffy's chest, I think to myself that's where I want the hands to appear, and they do. Such is the power of a devil's fruit, although by now for me it's basically subconscious."

"The same goes for me Lena, but for when I switch into my different body forms." Chopper added in.

"Luffy is probably the same for when he wants his body to stretch. Right, Luffy?"

"Huh? What did you say Chopper?" The lack of direct action was terribly unappealing for Luffy. He had been absent-mindedly picking his nose and examining its contents.

"I said how do you make your body stretch?"

"Huh? What do you mean 'how do I make it?' When I want it to stretch, it stretches!"

Chopper let out an exasperated sigh. "Right. On second thought, I shouldn't have asked the idiot."

He turned back to face Lena. "Anyways, I think you get the point Lena."

"Give it a shot." Said Robin.

"O-OK!"

Lena closed her eyes and let her faced the floor.

_Think huh?_

_I want the noises to come back._

_I want to experience hell again._

_Go ahead._

…

_Hey did you hear me?_

_I ready and willing this time!_

_You can come out now!_

_Jesus Christ you pick now of all times to leave me alone?!_

Robin saw Lena clench her fists and contort her face in frustration. She had never heard of someone having a hard time discovering their devil's fruit, but at the same time she'd never heard of someone forgetting they ate it in the first place. And that key factor being skipped was proving to be a lot more difficult than she could have anticipated. Still nothing was happening.

…

_I guess I have to really mean it._

_From the bottom of my heart._

_Well, fuck._

_I don't want them to come back._

_Go ahead, shoot me._

_Can't there just be some other way?_

_I know I want to get stronger but-_

_Wow_

_I must be a fucking retard._

_I forgot why I'm doing all of this in the first place._

_I got my thinking messed up._

_Ok._

_Let me try this again._

_I just need to think, right Robin-san?_

_I can't be worried about anything else._

_Think about what I need to do._

_I…I, I need to become stronger!_

Lena staggered forward.

The movement was sudden, and after moments of complete silence it shocked everyone.

"Did she…"

"She did it!"

Gasps and smiles erupted from the audience.

But Lena fell to her knees, and clenched her hair. Only she knew how familiar these actions were.

Her head was splitting from the maximum power of the noises. It was as raw as ever.

"Lena-chan!"

Sanji jumped over the banister to come to her rescue, but Robin was already at Lena's side.

"Wait Sanji!" she ordered him. He paused once he hit the grass, surprised and a bit aggravated as to why he couldn't help Lena, but he did as he was told.

"She has to do this on her own!"

So nobody moved. The Mugiwara pirates watched Lena's every move intently. Luffy, Chopper, and Brook were right behind Robin, in case she needed help.

The only sound audible to their ears were Lena's cries of pain. But her audio senses were currently being berated by an overloading magnitude of invisible forces.

"Ugh!" Already on her knees, Lena brought her head to the floor, fingers and toes clenching even harder.

"Lena!"

Robin grabbed her.

"Lena-chan!"

Unsure of what to do, Robin dug her nails into Lena's arms.

"GAH!"

* * *

><p><em>This time it was different. Lena's presence remained on the lawn deck of the Sunny Go. <em>

_She knew what she would see if she opened her eyes, but she couldn't open them. The voices were still as insanely powerful. She was still in crippling pain. But this time she could feel the grass hit her knees._

_And she could hear everything. The breathing of those around her. Their hearts pumping at a rapid pace. Their eyelashes making contact with their lower eyelids. _

_She could feel Robin's voice saying, "Lena, you have to control it!"_

_Maybe it was out of the close proximity, or Lena's new sense of perception, but even with all the chaos that surrounded her, Robin's voice pierced through Lena like a jagged knife. It was crystal clear. So was the following "Oi Robin, what should we do?!" from Chopper. _

_Some were not so easy to make out, but still were a new sensation. They were almost cloudy, they came to her with a bit of static interference._

_"Lena...what should I...open your..."_

_"Kuina..."_

_And she could feel someone grab hold of her. But she couldn't reach out, couldn't see who it was. _

_So having the same rules apply, she felt the sharp pain of something penetrate her skin._

_Maybe the pain itself wasn't amplified, but due to the preexisting sensory overload, that moment was the defining last straw._

_She couldn't take it anymore._

_Her body began searching for an alternative solution for the noises before her mind could respond, and it found one._

_There was no longer an empty abyss of darkness to throw it into._

_There was the lawn deck of the Sunny Go._

"_Shit!"_

"_No wait, please! Don't go out there!"_

* * *

><p>Robin's action was impulsive and very uncharacteristic of her.<p>

As soon as she did it, she was blown back.

The best way to describe it would to be a pulse. It was forceful enough to make the other three lose their footing, and even blew back Nami's hair. The glass in the window panes shook and the grass on the deck was russled by the force.

It came out of nowhere, and made no sound. Yet it seemed to come from Lena. She fell to one side, and her breathing became very shallow. She opened her eyes to see that her vision was very blurry and she was having trouble moving at all.

Nobody said anything.

What was there to say?

Everyone was shocked.

Someone might have shit their pants.

Robin sat up. She was still visibly shaken, but she regained as much composure as she could, and forced herself to stop breathing so fast.

"Usopp," she asked, "Could you please go get the seastone handcuffs from Punk Hazard?"

"Eh? S-sure" Usopp took off running.

"Robin-chan, is it ok if I-"

"Wait until he gets back."

A couple moments later Usopp came back with them in tow. He had already figured out what Robin wanted him to do.

He placed one of the cuffs in Lena's hands, and she immediately exhaled deeply.

She opened her eyes slowly and looked up at Robin, who was stroking her hair, and Sanji, who had just run over.

Robin looked at her sympathetically. "I think that's enough for one day, don't you?"

Lena turned away from her, and gritted her teeth.

"I'm so, so sorry everyone!" She spit out her words in anger and disgust.

Robin pressed Lena's fingers tighter against the handcuffs, which forced her to relax, both physically and mentally. Curios, she weakly looked up at Robin.

"That is seastone." Robin exclaimed. "Just as the name implies, it contains the power of the sea. Usually, for people who have eaten a devil's fruit, it is like a deadly poison. But I think in your case, it just might be the key to your training."

"This is getting really interesting Lena!" Luffy exclaimed excitedly! He was literally bouncing on his toes.

"You did great, Lena-chan!" Sanji took out the seastone and held her hand in his. She looked over to him and was greeted by a warm smile. Even Robin was grinning at her.

The rest of the Mugiwara crew by now was growing restless of the bystander role. (Shocker.) They went down to talk to, some congratulate, Lena.

"Man that was SUPER surprising!"

"You're amazing Lena!"

"what the hell was that, anyways? wind? Lena, you didn't eat the windy-windy fruit, did you"

"Now _that_ would be something to see!"

There laughs, cheers, complaints about said unknown energy; such a bipolar scene was to be expected of such a rambunctious crew.

Only three people, two idiots ad the woman with the raven hair, noticed the sheepish smile and tiny hint of red creep onto a young girl's face.

Honestly the spectacle was becoming a pretty routine one. A crowd formed around Lena, which Chopper then had to break up by claiming that he had to examine her right away! Where he would promptly carry her princess-style back to the clinic, with Zoro and Sanji right on his heels. They were both half-worried, half-proud of her, Sanji, as always, more vocal about it than his green-haired counterpart.

* * *

><p>A tall man turned away from the submarine's built-in binoculars. He jotted down some notes, completing his third full sheet for that day.<p>

"She's progressing beautifully…" He said to himself, smiling profoundly. He couldn't help but adding a small chuckle at the end of it. It was all coming along so perfectly!

**JESUS CHRIST WHO IS THAT? A NEW ANTAGONIST? And what was going on with those voices? Was that Zoro?! Well I guess you'll have to stay tuned to find out! Please, once again, I implore you to like/favorite/review!**

**Until next time!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello mina-san! Ok I truly am sorry for taking such a long time to update. But AP's are a real pain in the ass and unfortunately I really care about my academic future. But they're done by next week, so you can expect quicker updates! Yay!**

**ALSO! to HPNDOPDW00, my next reviewer, thank you SO MUCH for the follow! (You all should learn from this example!) You're criticism was so helpful and I am so immensely grateful! And I do feel honored that you took the time to write it up for me, and to read this fanfic in general! I'm sorry if Zoro seems a little OOC, but I know that ball of meat is a real softie at heart. But I'll definitely work on it. Again, thanks so much!**

**Now without further ado, read on! And then like/follow/favorite/review!**

**Chapter 8**

"This is niicee~~" Lena cooed from inside the bathroom. Judging from what Nami could tell from sitting outside the door, she had just gotten into the shower. The steam that started pouring out from the crack under the door further validated that.

"I know right?! Take your time and relax in there, OK? I'm gonna go now."

"Ok. Thanks, Nami-san!" Lena said, blushing a little bit.

Her quick examination only came up with a couple of cuts and bruises, so she wouldn't need to spend another night in the medical room. What she did need was a little bit of hygienic maintenance, though it was pretty embarrassing to have to use the "go freshen up" line on Sanji and Zoro to get them to leave her alone, _and _have to ask Nami-san where the shower was, and _then_ how to work it.

_A bonding experience…I guess._ Lena chuckled and started lathering her long, blonde, now sudsy hair.

* * *

><p>Twenty minutes later, and feeling only slightly guilty about taking such a long shower, even though Nami <em>did<em> tell her to take her time, Lena crept out of the ladies quarters, dressed once again in her apparently signature outfit of a pale green T-shirt and pale blue shorts. The same outfit she wore for training, and during her first couple of days on the Sunny-Go, which were spent unconscious in the sick bay. And of course, after a couple minutes of searching, she found a blanket to keep herself wrapped in, for both warmth and that undeniable feeling of comfort that she didn't give much thought to.

She could smell the enticing aroma coming from the kitchen, but as hard as it was to tear herself away from it, Lena decided she wanted to familiarize herself with all aspects of the ship, and not just the parts directly by Sanji's side.

So she tiptoed past the kitchen doors, since Sanji had a way of detecting her presence sometimes before she entered his line of vision or audible capacity, and made her way back onto the lawn deck for the second time that day. But by now the sun was just starting to turn the sky a beautiful shade of pinkish-orangish color. Take away Zoro, who was somewhere on the ship doing who knows what, she deduced that most of the crew was actually relaxing in the dining room Lena had just snuck past. Once outside, she was greeted by the sight of Chopper and Usopp, as Chopper was intently watching and listening to Ussop tend to his plants and simultaneously explain how he learned about each one's specific nutritional needs. Though they were far away, she could pick up what he was saying fairly easy, and it all sounded pretty far-fetched to her.

Then there was Nami, whose back was faced to Lena.

Lena noticed an extra pair of long…were those claws? Long claws or talons were protruding from the figure that Nami was blocking. Then Nami reached into her back pocket and drew out some pocket change.

"Ah, it's a News Coo!" Lena realized, a huge grin spreading quickly across her cheeks.

"It's coming pretty late today" Usopp said, leaning over the railing.

Chopper followed. "Wait, wasn't he here this morning Nami?"

She smiled back at them. "Apparently it's a big surprise special addition!"

Lena needed no further proof. At that moment she ripped the paper out of Nami's hands and went running into the dining room.

"Ah, Lena!"

"Lena!"

Chopper and Usopp yelled at her, but she slammed the door by accident in her excitement.

"Dammit Lena, I haven't paid for that yet!" Nami yelled angrily at the subsequent SLAM!

Once inside, Lena sprinted to the long dining room table, and plastered the newspaper out so that the cover page was totally visible. Its headline read:

**Official Agreement Made, Alabasta and Port Rica Go Public!**

Lena made such a racket, mostly purposefully, so the crew members that had been so patiently waiting and small-talking before dinner just _had _to go over to see what was going on.

"Port Rica, huh? Isn't that the name of your hometown Lena-chan?" Brook asked, still calmly sipping from his ornately decorated cup of tea. He chose rather odd moments to keep his composure.

"What's going on Lena? What are they going public about?" Robin was rather curious to see such excitement and energy from the same small form that was completely exhausted only a couple of hours before.

"Hmm? What are you guys talking about?" Sanji poked his head out from the window to the kitchen, immediately interested in the conversation since Lena's name was now included in it.

Lena smiled even wider, glad for the opportunity to enlighten these poor souls about possibly the most important historic to ever take place during their feeble lifetimes.

"Alabasta has finally agreed to our trade proposal, meaning that we are now official diplomatic trading partners and allies! This will be the first diplomatic and mutual agreement between to islands of the Grand Line! It's a huge marking point in history! _And _Port Rica will now have full access to Alabasta's trading contacts, which are so extensive due to its lack of domestic natural resources. For a town that is so new like Port Rica, this is like seriously striking gold for our economic prosperity!"

Lena's eyes sparkled with a childlike sense of fantasy and wonder, despite such big words she was using. Some of the more mature members of the Mugiwara were impressed and amused by her presentation, but all felt the sense of excitement she was emanating.

Sanji froze.

_Was she really just talking about Port Rica just now?_

Luckily though, he was still in the kitchen. He took a moment to compose himself, put the thoughts to a further part of his mind, and reminded himself to revisit them later.

"That's great Lena!" Robin said happily. Usually, Lena would have read way too much into a seemingly simple statement, trying to figure out if it was sincere or not. But right then Lena was too ecstatic to focus on anything else besides the terrific news.

"You know now that you mention it, that marketplace did look a lot like the ones we saw in Alabasta" Usopp said. He, Chopper, and Nami had already made their way back into the dining room as well, after dealing with a pretty pissed off News Coo.

"Ha Ha Ha! I'm glad you noticed my long-nosed friend!" Lena said with ridiculous bravado. She stood to face her small audience and stated proudly, saluting to an imaginary flag with comical tears steadily flowing. "Port Rica, a modest home of about 50,000. We have long since dreamed of the day when we could be united with the glorious Dessert Kingdom of Alabasta. Their long history, rich with culture, their hot, blazing sun that intensifies the heat of their burning passion! Every aspect of their nation is an example of pristine beauty and truth! It has been our mission to learn from their guidance for so many years, thanks to the benevolent ruler King Nefartiti Cobra-sama. His reputation precedes him; he is gentle and kind and his nation embodies everything our blooming island strives for! "

Lena paused, regained her breath from shouting; she was really gaining momentum there and got a bit carried away.

"But if you ask me," She continued on before anyone could make any witty or sarcastic comments, "the best part about Alabasta is what is in store for them. Their next ruler, Princess Nefartiti Vivi-sama. She is outstandingly beautiful, yet just as kind and down to Earth as her father. When she and the King first came to visit Port Rica so many years ago, there was a parade for them in the streets. Her elegance alone was blinding, and as my small eight year old self wiggled my way through the front, I first laid eyes upon her and the sun illumined her back, and created a halo of light. I surely thought to myself, "Is this what angels like?!"

Lena's hands clasped together, and the hearts that shaped her eyes started to look an awful lot like Sanji's.

"Pfft..."

The Mugiwara crew, who were as subtle as Beppo concealing his terrible self-confidence, were equally as bad at containing their laughter. An uproar filled the room in an instant.

Lena blushed and pouted.

"I see, so it's a mystery agreement!" Luffy promptly exclaimed, smacking his fist into his open hand. He had an idiotic look of realization on his face, like he just made some great discovery.

Then he was slapped on the head.

"Oi. Even for you that extremely slow." Usopp said, in a monotone, you're-the-dumbest-person-I've-ever-met kind of voice.

But Luffy continued on, undeterred. "Hahaha! Vivi, huh? I haven't thought about her in forever!"

And then he was drop kicked into submission by the person in the room with the long blonde hair.

"HOW DARE YOU REFER TO VIVI-SAMA SO CASUALLY"

Once Luffy was safely bleeding on the ground, she turned and walked away, wiping off her hands.

"Geez. You may refer to her as Princess Vivi-sama, just Vivi-sama, or my Liege if you want to be a bit more casual."

"B-but…she always let us call her…Vi…Vi…."

"Always..?"

"I wonder how she's doing." Nami smiled and closed her eyes. "She was always so clumsy! I still can't believe she's going to be queen someday!"

"Nami-swan! Vivi-chan was always a wonderful princess!" Sanji chose that moment to start bringing in plates of steak and potatoes.

"Hee Hee, I wonder how Carue and eyelashes are doing!" Chopper giggled, and a couple of nostalgic chuckles followed.

Lena looked around at all the smiling faces, and was utterly lost.

"Actually Lena-chan, we know Vivi really well. She's our nakama!" Sanji said, admiring Lena's adorable dumbfounded expression

"Eh?"

"Thanks to her we got messed up in her entire country's rebellion!" A vein bulged in Nami's previously serene face, and she furrowed her brow. "That was reaalllly not fun, thanks to that baka!"

"EH."

"Ah! And she was there when you guys came to Drum Kingdom too!"

"Oh yeah you're right Chopper! Actually, wasn't Vivi was the one who first took care of me when I got sick, right?"

_No way. There's just no way. _

Lena sank to her hands and knees, and started shaking in a cold sweat. All conversation stopped, and eyes were on her.

"D-does that m-mean that you guys…you guys have actually s-spoken to her? Y-you've _touched_ her?"

"Well, duh. She did travel on the same ship with us." Luffy sat up and said.

Lena gasped, and muttered to the floor

"Oh Kami-sama*, my life has been short, but well lived! I have fulfilled all my desires in this materialistic world, if you had to choose a moment for me to me die please let it be this one!"

"Huh? I didn't quite catch that Lena?"

"You mean that I'm!" She spoke up "I'm on the floor that Vivi-sama walked on. The same floor…the same room…the same air…"

Then she shot up, and darted looks around the room.

"I'm breathing the same air that Vivi-sama breathed. The. Same. Air."

Actually, she started breathing that air too hard and she started coughing.

Then everybody was laughing. Nami slung her arm over Lena's shoulder and said she was just _too_ funny!

Nami also thought that it would be a waste to tell her that it Vivi really travelled with them on a different ship.

"It's a shame you couldn't have met Vivi," She told her, "but I bet you will someday, we promised her that we'd accept her as our nakama again after all! Just make sure you don't freak her out, ok?"

"Really?! Ok!"

_Remind me never to show these guys my wallet!_**, Lena thought to herself.

"Yeah, we really did have some good times with Vivi, didn't we…" Chopper sighed.

"Yeah..." Luffy sighed too.

"My dearest Vivi-chan…" Sanji whimpered.

"She was so awesome…"

"I know right?"

Usopp and Nami jumped on the bandwagon, and then the bandwagon slumped on the floor and started to cry.

"WE MISS HER!"

"AT LEAST YOU'VE MET HER!" Lena followed in suit.

Over on the other side of the dining room, Brook whispered to Franky, "You've got any idea what's going on?"

"No, but from this position I can see Nami-san's panites quite nicely, Yohohoho!"

Robin giggled from behind the two. She walked up between them. "Is that all you can think about Brook?"

Franky, out of all the crew, could tell Robin's true emotions when he saw them. It was hard not to, after everything that she went through in Inies Lobby. So he could tell, that smile did not cut it.

Unbeknownst to him and to the rest of the crew, Robin still could not think of Princess-Vivi-sama as her precious nakama, nor did she think she ever would. There are some sins one should never forget.

* * *

><p>Zoro was getting really hungry. Like really, really hungry. Hungry enough to go get dinner without having the shitty cook tell him it was done first, which could be dangerously interpreted as appreciating the man's cooking. I reiterate, <em>very<em> dangerous.

And that put him at his crossroads, because despite how hungry he was, he really did not want to go into the dining room. He could hear the idiots in there being, well, idiots. It was hardly surprising coming from a crew of such caliber, but today Zoro was really tired and didn't want to have to deal with anyone anymore.

Zoro knew he was an awkward guy. It wasn't a bad thing, he accepted his uniqueness. But at the same time, it put him at a lot of different disadvantages, and right now he was definitely experiencing some kind of one. When he helped Lena today, he wasn't thinking about what he was saying, he just kind of…said it. But now what can he say to her?

_Hey good job, you know, with the vanquishing stuff. Really A+ work._

_No dammit that's not going to cut it._

So not knowing what else to do, Zoro did what came naturally. He isolated himself and trained until he was dripping with sweat. It was utterly exhausting, but helped clear his mind, (at least for a little bit,) and left him with the entire deck under his command.

He loved these kinds of nights.

Zoro pouted, took another swig sake that he got from his secret stash, and sighed. Sliding down to sit up against the railing by the bow of the ship, he looked up at the starry night. The sky was crystal clear, and Zoro swore he could see up until the edge of the Milky Way, including all the beauty leading up to it.

Those idiots sure were missing one hell of a night.

But as always, he was glad that he had those idiots, literally at the end of the day.

Sure being alone all the time was easier, but Zoro was never one to take the easy way out.

It was nice when others could rely on his strength. It gave him a legitimate excuse to be able to rely on others as well, no lengthy conversations required.

Zoro was really, really happy. He even let a smile adorn his face; the light from his eyes challenged the stars themselves.

_Lena's going to be fine, too…_

"May I join you?"

A soft voice startled Zoro. He chased away the train of thought that was about to overtake him.

_What was I thinking? Of course she is._

Zoro didn't give a reply, but instead got up and faced the ocean.

Robin took this as a hint and leaned against the railing beside him.

"Wouldn't you rather prefer to be in there? 'S pretty cold out." Zoro's gruff voice didn't contain any sincerity when asking about the archaeologist's welfare, but was more of a subtle hint as to why she was bothering him. He could be pretty rude when minding someone's feelings.

"I have nothing to contribute to the conversation anymore." She replied with a look of total neutrality.

There was silence, except for the quick sound of another swig.

Silence again, then

**grumble grumble**

Robin giggled at Zoro's stubbornness. He was ranked number two in the crew's appetite ranking, but she knew why he was still outside.

Zoro looked away and tried to hide the tint of red on his cheeks.

"I think it's sweet." Robin kept on looking at the beautiful night sky reflected in the gentle ocean waves, but this time a small yet sincere smile broke through her barrier.

"Huh?"

"The way you two look out for her, I think it's sweet."

Zoro chose not to reply again.

But that was a major strategic error, because the opposing party was one of the most cunning women on the Grand Line.

"Do you still think she's weak?"

"..."

Robin turned to look at Zoro this time, and she was greeted with a familiar sight. Zoro's face looked straight forward, seriously determined and ready to take any necessary actions to achieve whatever goal was racing through his mind.

It reminded her of how he looked as she glanced down on him from the ledge of Enies Lobby.

"…Yes."

"Eh?"

"Yes. She's weak. She's a weak little kid who doesn't belong here. Sure, she didn't belong back in her hometown either, but there's no place for her in a fight. Anybody can see that, hell I'm sure you picked it up as soon as you stepped onto the deck with her this morning."

Silence, there was no need for Robin to press him any further. He was just thinking of the right words to say.

"…But…"

He scrunched up his nose real tight as he tried to think. He scratched at his head, sake bottle still in hand.

**grumble grumble**

"Ah shit."

He sighed, and let himself lean further on the railing.

To Robin, he really did look tired. That look in his eyes had faded.

_He hasn't napped once since she got here._

"She's a little kid who doesn't belong here, and everybody wants to make her believe that she does. There's no point in trying to tell her that someday she will become a great fighter because she won't. I have no doubt that she will become stronger. Much stronger. But she shouldn't be here. She shouldn't be training to make believe like she should be. She's just gaining a false confidence, and somebody's going to get hurt."

"And yet…?"

Zoro shot a glance at Robin. She really knew everybody like the back of her hand.

"And yet…I don't want to see her fail either. She's just a kid. She shouldn't be held back just for being a kid."

"She shouldn't be, but she is. And everybody is going around pretending like she isn't, but really she is." Robin was smirking as she clarified the fact that Zoro's argument was crumbling down.

Zoro scowled at her, not amused in the slightest. But Robin wasn't phased in the slightest.

She continued on, knowing that Zoro needed a little guidance, though he was reluctant to admit it. But what she said, she said with a smile, for she was happy that she got two words out of him to begin with.

It hadn't always been so easy. It used to require a lot more sarcasm.

"Luffy really is an interesting captain, isn't he? The one who is looking after the crew right now is the first mate."

Zoro retorted back to his no response policy.

Robin's eyes creased as they shone with compassion, trying to compensate for what Zoro's had lost.

"And so you're mad at yourself, for letting your emotions get to you this morning, even after you have decided how you feel."

She paused for a reply that didn't come verbally, but instead in the form of Zoro sighing and closing his eyes. She was giving him exactly what his pride forbade him from asking for.

As they both faced an endless ocean and a sky that was starting to become cloudy, words were spoken that were desperately needed. No jokes, no teasing, no belittlement of the seriousness.

"But I don't think you need to decide everything yet. We don't have enough information. I too don't think that Lena's going to amount to be much of a fighter, and I don't know where she belongs yet either. But why can't it be with us? You're thinking of your nakama, is that it? You think that where Lena goes, bad things will follow because she's weak? Now you're just insulting us, insulting yourself, Zoro. In all honesty, that's a very valid point. But what were you training for, if not for this?"

Robin serene expression was bold and fierce by the time she finished. She stood up straight again, and took one last glance at the ocean. It was hard to tell where the sky stopped and the ocean started, everything seemed black, with gently flowing clouds in a small breeze matched gentle rocking waves.

She was tired too. She had worked hard today with a bright young girl and a strong young man, both full of sweeping potential. She deserved a nice long rest.

With her back turned to him, she left Zoro with one parting thought to mull over.

"If you want to think about your nakama, think about how they would feel if you took Lena away from them now."

Zoro took the time to fully appreciate the way she walked until the door to the galley closed behind her. Usually, she was an unreadable mystery.

But tonight, she cut him some slack and lifted her head up high as she walked with pride.

…And he couldn't help but notice the way her hips delicately swayed as she placed one foot after another.

He just scowled; he couldn't make himself turn away from her wake, even after she had gone.

_You're right, of course._ Zoro thought.

The fact that he was grateful for Robin's help was in mutual understanding between the two, causing Zoro to blush again.

But he drowned the thought in a gulp of bitter alcohol.

* * *

><p>By around 2 Am most of the Mugiwaras were already dead drunk on the dining room floor, or in the case of Chopper, milked-out and really tired. And take away Robin, she was sleeping peacefully back in her quarters.<p>

A _very _sleepy Lena sat snuggled in her blanket against the wall. She held a cup of inexpertly made hot cocoa. Sanji had made it look so easy, so even though he didn't exactly explain how to make it, a smart girl like herself would surely be able to figure it out, right?

_It's a good thing I'm so cute._

But the drink was still warm and sweet, so combined with her currently satisfied cuddling-fetish she was a little more at ease.

"Haaah.." She sighed a couple minutes later, and put down her empty mug.

_Phase one, initiating. _She thought to herself, as she silently stood up and crept out of the room.

_Looking for…a den den den! Den den den…mushi-chan! Where would I find a den den den Muuuushi-chan?_

She switched to singing her thoughts, in a mindless effort to suppress her rising anxiousness.

Lena tiptoed past Franky, her second to last obstacle before the door. Now all that was left was getting by Sanji.

She stopped and stared at his long, thin figure, gently rising and falling. He was still wearing his attire from the day, tie and all, as he lay there on the floor, like he just passed out cold. Yet the warm smile painted across his face, no doubt from some erotic dream that he was having, was still comforting and serene. As she took in every detail she started to hear the rhythm of his breathing.

That night had been a far cry from calm, yet who would've guessed it, staring at this man now? Here he was, sleeping happily, without a care in the world. It was the first time she saw Sanji looking so carefree, so genuinely happy. She dared say he looked a bit pleased, for some reason.

It was a nice view. One she scolded herself for screwing up so often.

But then Sanji moaned in his sleep.

Lena panicked, and tip-toed-sprinted out of the door in a heartbeat.

_Jesus Christ that was way too close._

_Ok._

_Ok._

_I'm fine._

_Let's just sing again, shall we?_

_Can't go in the crow's nest because Zooooro is up there!_

_Can't search people's pockets cuz then I'd get real scared!_

_Oh won't anybody tell me where is the den den mushi laaaiiiiirr?!_

Here off-tune melody lead her to the navigation room. Of course a den den mushi was there. Den den mushis are required in navigation rooms for in the case of a need for emergency signals, or things of the sort.

_Note to self, cut down on the cupcakes. Because I'm going to need this body to last for as long as possible, apparently!_

After a quick facepalm, Lena picked up the den den mushi, and sat down in the main chair.

Just holding it in her hands was exhausting.

That's because she knew what she had to do with it.

And she was really dreading it.

**I think I"m really getting the hang of this whole cliffhanger thing. This chapter was mostly fluffy stuff, but fear not! Things will be resuming at their usual fast pace shortly! Again, please like/follow/fav/review, and I'll see you soon!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey guys~**

**So this took longer than expected, and the entire writing process took about a week, which is longer than ever before. It was really hard cranking this out, and honestly I couldn't wait for it to end. But after such a long time, I hope it's up to your liking! Remember, (as always,) please like, favorite, and REVIEW!**

**Chapter 9**

"...Mommy," Was the first thing Lena said.

Lena was curled under the control desk of the navigation room. Even huddling under there while curled up in a blanket couldn't ease her nerves.

She held the small den-den mushi in her hand, and spoke to it with her eyes closed. She couldn't bear to see its face warped in worry, anguish, and anger, knowing that that was what her mother looked like right now.

"Lena? Lena is that you? Oh my _God_ where the hell are you I've been worried sick!"

"I know mom, I know, and I'm so _so _sorry."

"I thought you were kidnapped, I didn't know what had happened to you Lena, you were gone for a whole week and I had no word from you… I just… I thought that maybe…" Her voice grew quieter and quieter until it trailed off completely.

"I'm so sorry mom I just, I couldn't call you until now. I…"

To tell her mother that she had been gravely injured and worry her even more, thereby risking any chance of getting her consent to stay on this impromptu journey, or lie to her about it and live with the fact that she will be constantly deceiving her for the rest of her life? Lena was facing a real predicament.

"Lena where are you?"

"…I met the most wonderful people mom."

"Lena where _are_ you? I already contacted the marines days ago and I still haven't heard back from them, _where are you?!_"

"I'm…travelling mom."

"What?!"

"I met the most wonderful people. I kind of…ran into them in Port Rica, and I ended up showing them around. They're strong and kind and brave! They even took me on their ship and looked after me-"

"Lena I don't care! Tell me where you are _now_!"

Lena was silent.

"They're...scholars mom. They travel the world, learning about new places and documenting their discoveries. There are cartographers, even archaeologists! And they want me to come with them. This is actually an amazing opportunity for me."

"Lena what are you-"

Lena couldn't wait for her to finish. She worked up all her courage to finally say it, and she wasn't going to let herself stop.

"I'm sorry for not calling you sooner. Really I am! But…But… they're really serious about their studies, so they make sure not to have any distractions on their ship, like den-den-mushis and stuff. I'm calling you from an island, the first one we've docked at so far."

And she decided to go with a compromise. She wasn't _technically_ lying to her mom. Luffy _did_ say she was their nakama, and Robin and Nami really _are_ studying and documenting the crews' travels.

Lena was also still faintly concussed, very tired, and a tad bit very desperate.

"Lena please, you have to come home. Please, please understand. I didn't know what had happened to you, I was so worried. Just please come home!"

Lena's lower lip was trembling. Unbeknownst to her, miles and miles away, her mother's was as well.

"Now you do mom. I'm safe, I prmise. I-I'm having fun! I'm learning so much, and now I can really be someone! I can help the world, I can-"

"**Lena!"**

Lena heeded her mother's enraged scream as she always did, and she was quiet.

"You will come home. You're too young, too inexperienced! I won't allow it! _Tell me_ where you are!"

No answer.

"Lena where are you?!"

Still nothing.

"Tell me!"

Lena clenched her fists and gritted her teeth. The words she wanted to say were swelling up inside of her. And she remembered what she promised herself; she was going to get stronger.

_You're wrong. You're wrong! You've always been wrong!_

_I'm not going to be your little trophy anymore!_

"Th-The only reason why I'm so inexperienced is because of you!"

_I said it!_

There was no stopping Lena now.

"You paint me to your liking then you lock me up! It was hard, but I've learned about who _I _want to be in this life. _My_ life! If I go home now mom…if I go home now I swear to you I'll die. I'll keep living, I'll act just as I did the day I left, but this part of me, the part that I didn't even know I was waiting for until it found me, it will vanish. And my new self, this truly whole self, will die."

Lena was breathing hard, but luckily her mother was too shocked to respond. So she continued on.

"I'm not coming home mom. I'm going to stay here. I finally have made friends, and they make me feel happy, happy and excited. Everyday I'm excited to see them, the same people every day, because I like how they make me laugh and smile. And how they are getting me to have faith in myself again. I can't even tell when they're doing it.

So I'm, I'm just…

I love you mom.

See you soon."

_Gacha._

Lena closed her eyes and sighed.

Then she threw the den-den mushi across the room.

"Oi, oi Lena-chan don't be so violent please."

"What the…OW!"

Lena was so caught off guard by Sanji's sudden voice that she banged her head on the desk. Slowly, she crawled out, and looked up to face him.

He was leaning against the door frame, holding Lena's den-den mushi in his hand. He put it on top of the desk then went to sit next to her on the floor.

He looked sad.

They sat side by side in silence as Sanji lit a cigarette, took a long drag, and breathed out calmly.

"Lena-chan…"

"How much did you hear?"

Sanji sighed before responding.

"Enough."

"I-I didn't mean to lie I swear! I just didn't want to worry her, that's all! I love it here! I want to be with you guys!"

_Wait, shit, that sounded kind of weird._ Lena thought to herself. Then, just to check, she felt her cheeks. She was blushing. Crap.

"Wait Sanji that sounded weird I didn't mean to…I mean I did mean to but I-"

"Nah, that sounded just about right."

"Eh?"

Sanji grinned at Lena, and wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close to his body.

"We want you here too! Promise!"

"Sanji…"

Lena gripped his vest as she hugged him back. He smelled like a mix of tobacco and cologne.

Probably around forty or so minutes later, after Sanji had waited a sufficient amount of time for Lena's breathing to become steady and shallow, he picked her up bridal-style and starting carrying her back into the dining hall. He placed her on the sofa and adjusted her blanket so that it covered her whole body. Her interim place of residing has been the floor of the girls' quarters, but going in there was a death sentence for him.

He sat up against the sofa and lit a cigarette. At some point later on he drifted back to sleep as well.

_Five Days Later_

"Mm!"

Robin grunted as Lena's kick made her take a step back. Even though she got her arms in front of her face to block it, the force was heavy; Lena was improving more and more every day.

But the small blonde in front of her, despite having delivered a sufficient blow to her opponent, was panting much harder than Robin was. Robin almost felt a pang of guilt when she took advantage of Lena's tired form and kicked her across the lawn deck.

"Good work Lena! You almost got me there!"

It was true. For someone clearly not cut out to be in a fight, Lena was making remarkable progress in a short period of time. It also might have helped that she didn't have an audience anymore. Besides Robin there was only Chopper, usually Sanji, and the occasional bystander.

"Thanks so much Robin-san!" Lena accepted the helping hand up and stood to face the raven-headed woman in front of her.

"Now, you ready?" Robin asked her. The two phases of training-first physical then devil fruit-were becoming routine to the duo.

"Yeah!" Lena looked as determined as ever. She clenched her fists and took a couple steps back.

She took a couple deep breaths, and calmed herself down.

_Focus, _j_ust like Robin-san told me_…._wait, eh?_

"Robin-san, where are you going?!"

Robin chuckled.

"We're taking a break from training today. You need some real fighting experience if you're going to survive."

"B-But I, I'm not ready to really fight anyone yet!"

"Don't worry Lena! You're going to be great!"

The sound of hooves on the grass brought Lena's attention to Chopper in his Heavy-point form.

"Chopper-chan!"

"Oh! Are you guys going to fight!?" Luffy exclaimed.

He and Usopp took their seats. Luffy swang was swinging his legs over the banister like a little kid. And he was whining like one too.

"No fair Robin! Why does Chopper get to fight Lena?"

"Uhh please don't even joke about that Waraji-san…" Lena sweat-dropped.

"And Chopper-chan! Do you really need to be in monster-point?"

"Robin says that this will force you to use your devil-fruit powers, since now you can't beat me in a purely physical fight. Plus since I'm a reindeer, I have especially good hearing. This should be the easy win for you, that's what Robin says. But she also told me not to go easy, so I'm not going to hold back Lena!"

"Robin-san!" Lena looked pleadingly up at her.

"You can do this Lena!" Robin smiled at her disciple, her eyes full of confidence. She took a seat next to the Mugiwara-cheerleaders named Usopp and Luffy.

"Oh! You can do this Lena!"

"Yikeh Lena!"

"_Chopper, come here for a second!"_

_Robin smiled to the small figure as he looked over to her. She called to him just before he left the dining room after breakfast. She was the only one sill sitting at the table; she had just put the morning's newspaper down._

"_Sure Robin!"_

"_Chopper, would you do something for me?"_

"_What is it?"_

"_Would you mind fighting against Lena today?"_

"_Huh?! What are you saying Robin!? She's obviously not ready for a real fight yet!" _

_It was rare for Chopper to yell at Robin like that, someone who he loved and respected so much._

"_I know that. But she should get some experience in while we still have time."_

"_Lena's been steadily improving every day, give her just a little longer, then she'll be ready!"_

"_We can't afford to have her stay so weak Chopper! This isn't about sheer strength, it's about know how to fight when you're not going to win."_

"_Then if that happens she should just run away!"_

"_We're pirates Chopper. We're constantly out on the ocean, and she's a hammer in the water. Just go easy on her, OK?"_

Robin's smile faded as she reminisced on that day's previous events. Once again, she almost felt bad that her eyes looked like they shone with confidence. But then she couldn't help but silently laugh to herself.

_Robin told me not to go easy, huh? I didn't know Chopper had such acting chops._

Chopper charged at Lena, and threw his first punch. Lena blocked it by throwing up her arms at the last second, but his huge fist still over powered her and knocked her off her feet. She shakily stood back up, but a large bruise was already forming on both arms.

"Lena, you can do this! Trust yourself!" Chopper said.

_I know, I know dammit! Ok, one more time…_

Lena closed her eyes again and steadied her breathing. She dropped her shoulders, visibly showing she was forcing herself to relax.

She could feel it. She could feel that same dark presence starting to creep up from inside of her.

_There it is._ Robin thought to herself. She could see that Lena's expression contorting. She was getting scared.

_Think of our training!_

"Haaah…"

Lena exhaled deeply. She was shaking a lot, but she wasn't clutching her head yet.

Robin was watching her more intently than she had ever done in the past week.

_So far so good._

Unknown to her mentor, Lena's mind was swarming with the thoughts of the thousands of people around her in about a fifty mile radius.

That's what it was all along. It was more than just noises, or just random voices. It was the sound of countless lives converging into one concentrated, mass of cacophony. Their thoughts, their words, the sound of their feet hitting the ground as they walked; she heard it all.

So the first to do was designated to controlling that chaos, so she could use its unpredictable power to her advantage, like she did on their first day of training.

_I remember what Robin-san told me. _Lena thought to herself.

_Sound is just vibrations. And I can make it vibrate any way I want, that's what she told me. I've done it once. I just have to focus, and remember how to do it again._

Lena's concentration was interrupted by Chopper's second punch, this one connecting directly with her side.

_FUCK!_

That definitely left a mark, but Lena picked herself, just in time to sloppily roll away from Chopper's drop kick.

_He's not leaving me any time to focus!_

"Uugh!"

The tremendous pressure from all the voices was starting to take its toll.

Chopper was hesitant to attack Lena. This was what he was most worried about;

_She's just not ready for this!_

"Chopper! What are you waiting for?!"

"But Robin she…"

Chopper cried out in pain from a blow to the back. It wasn't fatal, but it surprised and hurt him enough to send him staggering a couple steps.

"Sorry Chopper-chan, I'm not going easy on you either!

Lena was a sorry sight. She was panting, clutching her injured side with a bruised arm, the other one shaking in front of her.

"Ohh! What did she do, what did she do?" Luffy was standing up and almost falling over the railing from leaning over so far. He had a huge smile plastered on his face.

"Sorry but I got tired of hearing your annoying thoughts Chopper-chan! They really hurt don't they?! Ha…haha…"

It's hard to call it laughter, since she was so out of breath, but at that moment Lena was laughing when she fell back on her butt, then laid on her back and faced the clear blue skies.

"I lost!"

She couldn't stop giggling.

"Damn I'm tired. Just one hit and I can't move anymore?"

"Lena, are you ok?!" Chopper ran over to her, and returned to his normal form.

"Yeah...I'm sorry Chopper-chan! I wasn't supposed to win, but I couldn't even put up a fight…I've been causing you trouble this entire time."

"That's not true Lena! What are you-"

"WHY THE FUCK IS LENA-CHAN LYING ON THE GOD DAMN FLOOR CHOPPER YOU GOD DAMN PIECE OF SHIT STAY RIGHT THERE I'M GONNA BEAT THE FUCKING CRAP OUT OF YOU"

"GAAAH SANJI WAIT HOLD ON WE WERE FIGHTING-"

"WHY THE FUCK WERE YOU FIGHTING SWEET LENA-CHAN YOU FUCKING REINDEER I SWEAR TO GOD I'M GONNA COOK YOUR AS INTO MOTHERFUCKING REINDEER STEW"

And so of course, Chopper was immediately chased around the deck by a fire-breathing Sanji, furnished with the sharpest forks and knives he could find.

Lena was still laughing. She willed the tears not to come.

**Next time: Drama, surprises, action?! I hope Lena will be ok!**

**Stay tuned guys! And like I mentioned before, L/F/R please! (and thank you!)**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey! How long has it been! I know, too long, and I'm sorry. I'm also going to tell you right now that I'm sorry for this chapter being shorter than usual. But there's a lot of stuff going on like BAM BAM BAM and you and I both need to be able to process it all. So take it all in, and remember! PLEASE! Follow/favorite/review! I'm trying to get to five reviews per chapter!**

**Also a huge thank you goes out to ****xxMockingbirdxxx**** for the newest review, and ****HPNDOPDW00**** for the ongoing support!**

**Chapter 10**

_What am I doing?_

Lena stared at her bandaged forearms from her little makeshift bed in the girls' quarters. (A hammock tied up in the far corner.)

_I'm fucking starving_

"Tsk!" She laid back and stared at the dark ceiling.

"Why did I say that I wasn't hungry?!"

She rolled onto her side.

_Is it because I knew that they wouldn't say anything when I pulled that kind of face?_

"Ugh! Why did I do that?"

She sat straight up, but of course she didn't get out of bed.

"And WHY am I still not going out there?"

So she dramatically laid back down again. And she punched her stomach when it started growling soon thereafter.

"Shut up! You're not helping."

* * *

><p>vdRobin giggled, and dispersed her extra hand and eye from below Lena's bed.<p>

"So? What's she doing Robin?" Nami asked.

"She's so funny."

"Robin!" Chopper said from across the table. His eyes only shone with genuine concern.

"She's fine Chopper, don't worry."

The reindeer slumped back in his chair in relief.

"She's frustrated and upset. And I think she might be embarrassed."

"Embarrassed?" Luffy looked up, startled and confused.

"So we're leaving her be?" Franky peered around the table.

"….Yeah." Sanji said. Nobody looked particularly happy about it.

* * *

><p>Lena eyes slowly opened. It was dark enough to be the middle of the night.<p>

She picked up a faint trace of an extremely high-pitched noise, and it was getting closer by the second.

_What is that noise?_

All at once the sound was on top of her in a flash of intense clarity of pain.

At the same time there was a huge crash. The entire ship tremored and shook, and in an instant the room was filled with a green gas.

_"..WAKE...-RYONE...GAS...OUT..."_

_Zoro?_

Lena could feel her body still shaking. Her panicked eyes darted left and right, but she only saw a blur, then nothing at all.

* * *

><p>"Nice place they got here"<p>

"Sure is."

"I'd like living here."

"Wouldn't mind it."

"Will you two just shut UP and focus?!"

The three men in gas masks successfully boarded the Mugiwara ship, and stopped on the lawn deck.

"Alright here's what we're gonna do. There's ten of them, and we need to get all of them onto the sub. Split up, cover every room. Twice. Three times, I don't care! Just. Get. Ten. People. Think you can handle it?"

"Yes sir!"

Two of the men saluted and headed into the galley

"Wow. Thanks for the vote of confidence chief."

"Seriously, he's the worst."

"Just the worst."

The _chief_ took a seat by the mast.

"…I can hear you, morons."

* * *

><p>Fifteen minutes later, the entire crew and Lena were all by the chief's feet; all unconscious.<p>

"We better get going sir, the entire lower level is flooded."

"It's not a pretty site sir."

"So then why are you two saluting?"

You could practically see the chief sweatdrop through his mask.

"So then why are you two saluting?"

"Just seems like a waste of a beautiful ship sir."

"Whoever their carpenter was did a magnificent job."

"So like I said…you know what! Never mind! You did an excellent job getting all of them, let's get the hell of this thing!"

He took out a walkie talkie. "Boss? We got 'em. Bring her up."

Immediately after a small sub, about a quarter of the size of the Sunny emerged from below the surface of the water. Its hatch automatically popped open, and the three men started throwing the crew into it. When Lena was the last one left, she was picked up, and just like everyone she was carried over to the railing.

"Wait!"

The man stopped before he tossed Lena over.

"Not her. Nothing can happen to her, remember?"

So Lena was slung over the man's shoulders as they boarded the sub. The latch closed, and the sub began its descent beneath the waves.

* * *

><p>"Mmngh…." Luffy groaned, and slowly opened his eyes.<p>

"Oh! Finally he's up!"

"I can't believe he's the captain and he's the last one awake."

"Luffy! Are you ok? Are you hurt anywhere?"

Chopper's tiny body came into focus across the room.

"Oh, Chopper! Good morning! SANJI! I WANT BREAKFAST!"

"Shut up you annoying shit! I only cook when the ladies ask me!"

"If you two don't shut up right now, I'm going to knock you **both back unconscious**!" Nami fumed at them, with actual fangs for teeth.

Luffy looked around the room. He and his entire crew were sitting in a circle in a square, metal room. Most of them were still in their pajamas, save Zoro. But he just sleeps in his pants for the next day and takes off his shirt. There were no windows or portholes to be seen, or any furnishing. Just them, the door, and the bright ceiling lights.

"This isn't the sunny" He said.

The sheer obviousness of that statement created an utter loss for words as to combat such awesome stupidity.

"We were abducted last night Luffy. Most of us remember seeing green gas, and then we all woke up here." Robin said to his right.

"Zoro-san, who was on guard, said it happened in an instant, and there were no ships in sight!" Brook added.

"It must have been sleeping gas." Zoro mumbled. He had a permanent scowl on since he woke up.

"And Lena-chan's MIA too, this isn't looking too good." Sanji lit a cigarette.

"Oi Sanji! Do you go to sleep with cigarettes in your pocket?" Franky teased. But Sanji shot him a glare that shut him up for good.

"EH? Lena's missing? Why?" Luffy asked, and he quickly grabbed the entire crew's attention again.

"That's what we've been trying to figure out. It's probably the same people at it again, right? The people who attacked her back at her hometown." Usopp said.

"But the problem is we don't even know where we are, let alone how to look for her." Nami clenched her fist.

So Luffy got up and punched his hand into the other.

"Well then, what are we waiting for? Lena's in danger, we need to help her!"

"Wait Luffy, what are you-"

"**GAAAHH**"

Immediately, Luffy let go of the door handle.

"What? What is it? What happened?" He asked frantically.

Nami lay sprawled out on the floor, still slightly convulsing.

"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?" Luffy tried again.

"That's why we said wait you idiot! We tried to leave when you were still out of it, but when someone opens the door, one of us gets electrocuted from these god damn bracelets!" Usopp said.

"Nami, Nami answer me! Are you ok?" Chopper was by her side. "Shit, that was her second time!"

Shocked, Luffy made his way over to his peers.

"…Na…Mi? NAMI!"

* * *

><p>Lena opened her eyes.<p>

"Hello."

A man in a white lab coat holding a clipboard was directly above her, leaning on a railing. He was decently tall, had short, neatly combed brown hair, and glasses covering big blue eyes.

"…Hi." Lena tentatively responded. She started to stand up.

_Ok Lena, survey your surroundings_

She was in the center of a large open room, with a hard tile floor. The man was standing on a banister framing the upper portion of all the walls.

"Did you have a nice sleep?"

_Stay calm_

"A little more…painful than what I'm used to."

His smug smile got just a bit wider. "What's your name?"

"Lena."

_Oh crap! Ok there's no harm in telling someone your name, right? Wait stay calm dammit!_

"Lena, huh. That's a beautiful name."

_What._

"W-What?"

"I think I might have gone with something a little more sophisticated though. Well whatever, it hardly matters anyways." Unable to contain it any longer, he showed a big toothy smile. His left canine tooth was plated in gold.

"What do you say Lena, shall we get started?"

"What? What, I don't even….wait, what are you talking about? Where am I? What the hell is going on?!"

Lena lost was little restraint she had on her rising panic. This man hadn't even touched her, yet she knew-he was on a whole different playing field. She couldn't read his nonchalant attitude, worst of all Lena could tell that he knew she was helpless as well. All of that plus a sickening cynical smile completely broke her.

"Don't worry Lena-chan-"

Lena paled. Sanji called her Lena-chan. But now it sounded dirty, soiled.

She was in way over her head.

"-We're just going to run through the basics, ok?"

_I have to run._

She started to backpedal, but couldn't bring herself to tear her gaze from his gleaming lenses.

"Oh no that won't do. Boys, get out here please!"

On cue, two men in black outfits entered through the door farthest to the right wall. One was a platinum blonde with spiky hair that stuck up in the front. The other had chestnut brown hair that stuck out from under a dark green beanie.

"Is that her Boss?"

"She's cuter in person Boss!"

"But this is our second time seeing her, isn't it?"

"Thank you for being so punctual as always you two, but _please_ shut up and just get down there." The man said, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Yes sir!"

They both jumped down from the railing (perfectly synchronized) and stood before Lena.

"Lena, this is test number one. See how long you can go without dying."

**Until next time!**


	11. Chapter 11

**I've been putting this off for a really long time, justifying it with the famous line "Junior Year sucks," but I finally got around to it. Sorry for keeping you guys for so long! And remember, like/favorite/review if you feel compelled to do so**

**Chapter 11**

_His right bicep is flexing back and up, and his knees are bending…he's going for a blow to the jaw!_

Lena lifted her left arm to cover her face and reinforced it with her right. She took the blow, its force slightly pushed her back. She dropped her hands to her knees and bent over, panting hard. Sweat dripped down her brow, masked by her thick bangs.

"Goddamit…you little…shit! You're going to have to start attacking sometime!" The blonde man yelled, a vein pulsing on his forehead.

As soon as their "boss gave the word" the two men came at Lena, throwing at her an unrelenting barrage of punches and kicks, which so she only responded to with blocks. A whole ten minutes passed, and she was whole-heartedly exhausted.

But, as according to her plan, her opponents were starting to feel the effects of attacking and attacking nonstop.

"_Lena, this is test number one. See how long you can go without dying."_

"_WAIT WHAT WHAT WHAT WHAT HOLD ON WHAT" Lena internally screamed to herself._

_The brown-haired man dashed at her and kicked her directly in the stomach. Then her abilities snapped into action. She could hear his calf muscles pointing his toe, his bones flattening, her internal organs crushing under his weight. She was sent rolling across the floor. When she stopped, she quickly scrambled to her feet, she had already heard his partner running to deliver a second blow._

"_What…is this? What the hell is this?! They're nothing like Robin-san! And I mean I knew she was kind of still going easy on me but holy crap! If I leave one opening, they'll kill me for sure!"_

So her panicked, half-assed strategy became: don't attack-thereby not leaving any openings-and pray to God you can last long enough for this ridiculous homicidal test to be over.

Or that Sanji and Zoro and Waraji-senchou-san will come in and beat the shit out of these guys and rescue her. Whichever came first.

_Left calf flexing, right leg straightening,_

Lena quickly ducked, evading the swinging kick from her shaggy haired, beanie-brazen foe. Jumping up, she regained her posture, then dodged the blonde's attacks. She bobbed to the right, left, ducked slightly again, then sprinted to the left.

Leaving her no time to recuperate, the two assailants instantly started on the offense again.

Lena was painfully aware that she wouldn't last much longer.

* * *

><p>"So, what can <em>we<em> do then?" Sanji asked.

"Just _wait_! I'm still working." Franky retorted more than a little annoyed. He had brought out his detail-focused hands and was using a tiny laser from his index finger to disassemble his bracelet.

Chopper held Nami's hand. He had assessed all her external injuries, which he concluded were serious but not too extensive that she was in life-threatening danger.

"_She can't take any more damage guys, or I won't be able to do anything."_

His words rang in Luffy's ears, who was currently pacing the room.

"Aargh! Franky, are you done yet?" He asked.

"Huh? I'm working as fast as I can you bastards, give me a fucking break here!"

Luffy just grunted and kept walking, returning back to his thouhts. He was only tuning into the group conversation when his impatience got the best of him.

"Luffy just put up with it a little longer. And Franky chill out! It's rare for you to get so pissed off." Usopp said, sitting cross-legged with his face resting on one hand.

"It's weird for you to be so calm in this situation, ironically enough Usopp." Robin giggled as she spoke.

"Hah? Well…when we're all equally stuck here this gives me, Usopp-sama, a chance to show my true colors! A natural born leader, consoler of the weak-hearted!"

"Psh…so you're true colors only come out when it's convenient. Some character you have Usopp." Sanji teased.

"OI! I don't want to hear that from you, you nervous wreck of a chain smoker!"

"But we're not equally stuck here Usopp," Chopper piped in, "Brook left his body five minutes ago."

"**EHHHHH**" The whole crew/chorus screamed.

It seemed no one, save Chopper, had noticed.

"Really guys, we're trapped in a tiny metal box. How did you not notice when your crew mate's soul left his body?! He even **'yohoho-ed' out of the room!" Chopper exasperatedly sweat dropped. (To say the least)

"Well, Chopper you have better hearing than us!" Usopp pouted.

"I saw him leave, I just didn't feel the need to say anything." Robin stated matter-of-factly.

"Oi Robin, that's kinda mean." He mumbled.

_Clang Clang! _The sound of metal hitting the ground resounded.

"Ah! I got it!" Franky suddenly shouted out. "What, you got your anklet off?" Luffy asked, immediately giving Franky his undivided attention.

"No, the metal covering. "The anklet was hollow and Franky had cut off the front part of it. With his little hand Franky twisted the anklet 360° and got a full view of the devise's interior.

He pointed to a thin metal wire wrapped around the whole anklet. Its two ends were connected by a tiny box. "This is what carries the electricity. The box is the battery, but I've never seen such a powerful one be so small. This," He pointed to a smaller blue box connected to the battery, "is what receives the signal from the door. It's connected to the battery…but why are there so many extra wires- oh Shit!"

"What, what's wrong?" Usopp asked. He was shivering.

"This fucking battery, look! Its chemicals are kept externally god dammit! Luffy whoever designed this didn't want anyone taking it off for a very long time."

"What do you mean Franky?" Said captain asked concernedly

"You don't want to breathe in the stuff that batteries are made of. And these wires," Franky pointed to some eerily colored bright green wires that circumvented the anklet, "are chock full of them. I'm not sure that I can laser through the anklet without hitting one of them."

"So then what, we can't get out of here?" Luffy's frustration was reaching maximum capacity. "That's it, no more waiting around! I'm going to break this wall into pieces!" He walked up to the wall.

"Hey Luffy don't act rashly!" Usopp raised his arm from his cross-legged position. He tried to deter his captain. "We'll figure out a solution just stay patient!"

"How can you expect us to stay patient Usopp?! At this point our best option is to break open the door and hope you're not the one who gets fried!" Franky shouted back.

"Hey hey you bastard are you trying to endanger Nami-san? You heard Chopper she might die if she gets hurt again!"

"She's got just as good of a chance as everybody else here, we can't just sit around doing nothing because she _may _get hurt!" Franky shot a dagger glare at Sanji.

"I'm not going to let anyone touch another pretty hair on Nami-san's head you robot-freak! I think you're just getting impatient because you've been absolutely useless!"

"What was that you eye-brow son-of-a-bitch?!"

Hands suddenly covered the mouths of the far-too aggravated men. The perpetrator was of course Nico Robin.

"If you all really want to help Lena, I suggest you stop arguing and save your energy for when we get out of here." She said assertively, before removing the extra limbs.

Usopp, Franky, and Sanji gave up on their banter. Luffy, though, would not back away from the wall. He clenched his fists; boy, did he look pissed as hell.

"Well then, what _can_ we do Robin?" Chopper interjected very half-heartedly. The rest of the crew felt the same, just also at a loss for articulation. Luffy continued to glare at the wall. Despite all his rage he trusted what Robin said.

"Mina-san, thank goodness you're all still safe!"

At once the Mugiwaras looked up-Brook's head spirit had just returned. He quickly re-animated his body, then jumped up. He glanced around checking his entire surroundings, the crouched down and motioned for the rest of the crew to join him. He recounted to them the new information he had acquired in a very hushed tone.

"Mina-san this isn't a ship at all, it's a submarine! We're miles below the surface and moving very quickly to the West, but I'm not exactly sure where to. This submarine is pretty compact. There are only two stories and we're currently below the main one. The sub must be tall and skinny because the corridors aren't very long but the ceiling on the main floor is very tall. Also-"

"Alright Brook we get it it's a nice boat. Where's Lena-chan?"

"Ah, I'm sorry Sanji-san but I could not find Lena-chan. I checked every room on this floor and would have continued searching, but I heard something that I must share with you all."

"What was it Brook?" Usopp said

"Mm. Luffy-san, mina, I'm afraid we have been taken prisoner on a marine submarine."

"**EH?!" **the crew exclaimed in unison

"Shhhh! You must be quiet!" Brook exclaimed. "It's precisely as I Said, I saw the insignia on every wall. But that's not the real issue. I passed by the navigation room and overheard someone saying that they 'almost felt bad for the pirate scum.' I looked in to see a picture of this very room from below, as if a denden mushi was right underneath us right now!"

The Mugiwaras gasped.

"Seriously?" Sanji said incredulously.

"So that's why we need to whisper." Chopper muttered.

"Even now I'm worried that they are finding this suspicious." Brook turned to Luffy "I think we need to escape as quickly as possible."

Luffy scanned his crew, and was met with the same expression as the one he wore. Determined and ready. Ready to beat the shit out of whoever was responsible for hurting Nami and keeping Lena from them.

"Yeah, let's get the hell out of here!" He stood up, walked a few paces back, then bit his thumb.

"Gomu gomu no…"

"Wait Luffy…"

"You aren't going to…"

The crew quickly dispersed

"**Gigant Pistol!"**

The floor shattered beneath the crew. Glass shards flew by them as they tumbled through the air, before their bodies met with cold metal.

* * *

><p>"Mmngh!" Lena used the side of her wrist to block a punch aimed at her left temple. She faltered a couple of steps back and slumped over, absolutely exhausted. She gazed down at her arms.<p>

They were already turning nasty shades of green, blue, and purple. She was starting to lose feeling in them.

"What's wrong? You finally ready to keel over yet?!" The blonde one shouted. "Give it up, you're barely even standing."

Lena glared at him. Struggling, she stood up straight to meet his eye. He sneered.

His companion was able to sneak up behind her, a testament to her fatigue. He delivered a solid kick to her back, which sent her flying forward until she stopped right in front of the blonde man. He pressed his foot onto her head.

"This is more like it!" He spat.

"You can hold it there, Arai-kun." The boss re-established his presence. In the heat of the fight Lena forgot he was even there, watching her every move.

"Lena-chan," He spoke with a hint of amusement, "If you don't start using your devil-fruit powers you're going to die you know. We already know you have the koe-koe no mi, there's no use in trying to hide it."

_Shit! How did he know?_

_Stay calm_

_I can't show all my cards yet, not until I can find a way out of here!_

_Stay calm_

_Stay calm dammit!_

_Just think_

With most of the energy she had left, Lena took advantage of her opponent's lack of attention and pushed onto her knees, making him lose his balance and step off of her. Standing up she looked at the most dangerous man in the room.

_I should stall…right? But what should I ask him? Why do you know something that only nine other people in the entire world currently know about?_

_I don't think I even want to know the answer to that._

"Wh-what do you want with me?" She asked unsteadily.

She saw him look her over. Her whole body was now covered in scrapes and cuts, her pajama t-shirt and shorts torn and hanging even more loosely off her petite frame than they did to begin with. He took a moment, then answered.

"I want to know _everything_ about you." He said with a bit of amusement. "I'm so incredibly excited to finally have you here. I've been _agonizing_ to get my hands on you."

"…So you were the one who kidnapped me from Port Rica then."

"And gave you the greatest gift of your entire life."

"What, my devil fruit?"

He just continued smiling.

"I don't think I made myself explicitly clear." She began again. "What _exactly_ do you want with me? You give me a devil fruit then abandon my unconscious body in the alleys of Port Rica, and now you kidnap me again and are examining me like I'm some kind of specimen. Not that you probably care very much, but this has all been very unnerving and if you wouldn't mind I would like some explanation here!" Lena was breathing heavily by the end of her mini-rant.

Also when she gets really tired her sarcasm tends to get the better of her.

The boss up on the rail above scratched a couple of notes onto his clipboard.

"Intelligence lacking"

"Rash decision making triggered by relatively low panic"

He looked up and sighed.

_How disappointing_ He thought grimly

"You said it yourself, Lena-chan. You are simply a specimen, a test-subject for me to manipulate. Sorry, but you're not going to get to know anything else."

Lena's brow furrowed and her fists clenched. She opened her mouth, but was cut off.

"I'm not interested in you buying time anymore. It would have been interesting to see the escape route you devised during our little chat, but you couldn't come up with one, could you? So now you're either going to do exactly what I tell you to do and fight with your devil powers, or you're going to die. The choice is yours."

He paused for a second to observe Lena's distraught expression.

He had succeeded in breaking her mental defenses. Whatever was going through her mind right now was a muddled mix of chaos and panic.

"Boys, if you would."

The next step was to make her feel pressed for time, to encourage an irrational decision.

Consequently, her breathing rate sharply increased, sweat drops were visible on her brow.

The man smirked, and relished his brilliance.

In an instant Lena lifted her arm and sent a massive pulse towards the brunette. The ground broke and tore along its path, and he was blown back with massive force until he hit the wall behind him.

Lena's eyes, terribly afraid, darted to her other side, where the other attacker had stopped his pursuit, frozen momentarily in shock.

She shouted and thrust both hands in front of her, using the same power to propel him backwards.

Lena's breathing was sporadic, her heart rate uncontrollable. Her hands started to shake from in front of her, but she couldn't move them, or even feel them at all anymore. She had somehow absolutely exhausted herself for a reason totally unbeknownst to her and as a result basic cognitive functions were underperforming. Her mind was reeling, trying to make sense of the situation. But her body couldn't take much more and soon gave out.

From his vantage point it was an interesting spectacle. He watched his specimen's arms shake so much that they eventually dropped to her sides. Then in a similar motion she fell to the floor.

He jumped down, creating a small indent in the floor to brace his impact. He walked over to the girl and swung her over his shoulder, then walked out of the room.

_I'd have expected at least a little more from my own daughter._ He frowned at the thought and walked away from a room stained with her blood.

**Anybody surprised? :) **

**Please please please like/fav/review please **


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